Ravishing
by Commander
Summary: Jessie's got a new Pokémon showcase to win and a newly upgraded relationship with James to enjoy. But perfecting both of these is going to take a lot of trial and error. As in, a LOT of error. Errors abound. A comedy of errors, smutty rom-com-ish thing of the rocketshipping variety.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:

Hello again, all! Well, it took me a good half a year, but I finally finished my multi-chaptered (nine chapters, to be precise) Rocketshipping fanfic. Despite having spent so much time on this, I'm not quite sure how to describe it. "Smutty rom-com", "porn with plot and character introspection", and "comedy of errors with explicit sex scenes and a few somber moments and did I mention the sex scenes" are the best I can do. It starts off right where my previous rocketshipping fic "Mutual" ended, although I don't think you necessarily need to read that one to read this one (although if you like rocketshipping, which I assume you do since you clicked on this fic, you might as well read it anyway lol).

It has been a long time since I've churned out a multi-chaptered fanfic like this—over six years, in fact. It definitely took longer and was more of a challenge to complete this one than others in the past, but more than anything I'm just glad to discover that I still can do it at _all_ , even with the added responsibilities that come with having a full-time job and two kids. I'm not going to promise anything earth-shattering here, but I did have fun writing this one, and I hope that comes through in the finished product.

I will get a new chapter posted every few days or so, when I'm able to. I also fully intend to respond to all signed-in reviews, but it may take a few days, as I am pretty busy (see above re: job and kids). If it does take me awhile to respond, or if I neglect to entirely, please don't take it personally! I'm very grateful to everyone who takes the time to leave me a comment and let me know what you think. So in advance: thank you!

Enough rambling; on with the fic! I hope you enjoy! :)

…

Nestled in a far-off corner of Kalos, overlooking the coast, was the resort town Vigroux City. With its biggest industry being tourism, the town seemed to have more visitors than residents at any given moment. Spas, golf courses, and shopping boutiques nearly crowded out any other, more mundane businesses. And, on the coastline, lines of resort hotels in varying degrees of glamor stretched the entire length of the town.

The biggest and grandest of these hotels, Ocean Paradise, was on this beautiful day teeming with people—mostly hopeful young girls. The hotel's many conference rooms and its close proximity to an outdoor amphitheater made it the perfect host for a Pokémon showcase. The performers milled around a booth just outside the front door, registering for the very quickly upcoming Vigroux City Showcase, the excited twittering of their voices filling the coastal air.

And the sunny sound was sliced into rather jarringly by the clattering thuds of feet scrambling up the street.

" _WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"_ Jessie—or Jessilee, rather, her hair pulled back and her body poured into her maroon cocktail dress—frantically raced towards the registration booth, high heels clicking wildly against the concrete, with only her Wobbuffet able to even somewhat keep pace with her.

Trailing far behind them, James and Meowth panted and heaved, having been run ragged ever since Jessie had woken up later than usual that day with a shriek of realization of how squeezed for time she'd be to secure a spot in the competition. "I'm gonna _pass out!"_ Meowth snapped back in between gasps of breath.

The crowd of performers all turned to gape at the bizarre spectacle as Jessie nearly skidded into the booth. Only slightly out of breath, she quickly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear before saying as cheerfully as possible, "Hello! I'm Jessilee and I'd like to register for the Pokémon Showcase, please!"

The registrar behind the booth gave a wry exhale before scribbling down on the last line of her sheet. "And that's fifteen, and we're officially full and registration is closed. Congratulations, Jessilee, and welcome aboard."

" _Fantastic!"_ Jessie laughed gleefully, throwing her arms in the air, not even noticing Wobbuffet barreling into her, unable to stop his forward momentum.

"Wobba…" he muttered before collapsing on the ground.

James and Meowth hadn't even made it that far, having stopped a good twenty yards away to lean over and attempt to catch their breath. "This… this was her own stupid fault… for sleepin' in in the _foist_ place!" Meowth managed to shoot a sneaky glance towards James. "Someone kept her up way too late last night!"

Gasping for breath himself, James still blushed, even while on the defensive. "It wasn't like that… no matter what… you'd _like_ to think…"

Jessie interrupted Meowth from making yet another snarky remark, to James's utter relief. "Just in time!" she exclaimed happily, gliding her way back to her overtaken teammates effortlessly. "And you thought I wouldn't make it!"

"No, I thought _we_ wouldn't make it," James gasped.

"I'm not so sure that we _did,"_ Meowth said with great effort.

"Quit lying around," Jessie huffed dismissively. "We've got to check into the hotel."

James and Meowth looked at each other in confusion, then directed those looks back to Jessie.

"Didn't I tell you?" Jessie laughed. "All contestants and their parties get to stay here at the Ocean Paradise free of charge during the festivities. Once we've paid the admittance fee."

"That's hardly _free,"_ James pointed out grumpily.

"It's not that much, considering," Jessie shot back. "And I'll more than make it up with the prize money when I win."

" _If_ you win."

Jessie glared at James.

He gulped nervously. "I mean, yes dear, of course, _when_ you win."

"Heck, I don't care," Meowth said wearily, "as long as I've got a place to put up my feet and get some R and R."

"And you'll get it!" Jessie's excitement had returned. "From my understanding, in fact, we're free to use all of the amenities as we wish. The pool, the spa, the continental breakfast… all of it's included!"

James and Meowth finally began to brighten to begin to match Jessie's enthusiasm. "Can't argue with free food!" Meowth exclaimed.

"After a day like today I could use a nice relaxing spa treatment," James admitted wistfully.

"Well then, get off your sorry behinds and let's get checked in!" Jessie demanded.

James and Meowth did, apparently, have be told twice, but they didn'thave to be told _three_ times.

…

"Welcome to Ocean Paradise!" the clerk at the front desk greeted with a smile. "Are you here for the Pokémon showcase?"

What a silly question, Jessie thought to herself. Why else would such a fabulously dressed woman with an air of grace and poise such as hers be here mere days before a showcase? "Isn't it obvious?" she said with a confident smile.

"Well, we're very pleased to have you. Please take advantage of all of our amenities, including our Pokémon lodges."

"Pokémon lodges?"

"We offer a separate space for Pokémon tailored to their comfort," the receptionist explained. "We're aware that our guests wish to experience all our resort has to offer without worrying if their Pokémon are being well cared for. If you choose to send them there, they can stay for as long or as little as you'd like. And as you're here for the showcase, we'll have them well rested and fed for you tomorrow morning so they're all ready to go for rehearsals."

Jessie turned to Meowth. "Well? What do you think?"

Meowth, intrigued, leapt up onto the desk to address the receptionist directly. "Do the Pokémon there get the same amount of pamperin' that the humans do here?"

The receptionist looked taken aback from the spectacle of a talking Pokémon for only a second or two. "Yes, most certainly. Most Pokémon are a bit reluctant to return to their trainers afterwards, as a matter of fact."

Meowth grinned. "I'm likin' the sound of this!" He spun his head around to address Wobbuffet, who was attempting to pull himself up onto the desk to better get a handle on things himself. "Might be nice to get some poissonalized attention for a change, huh?"

"Wobba-wobba-wobba!" Wobbuffet sounded as receptive to the idea as Meowth.

Jessie retrieved her other Pokéball. "We'll see if Gourgeist would like to join… what about my partner's Pokémon?" she asked the receptionist, gesturing towards James. "He only has the one."

"Not a problem. These amenities are offered to all performers and their traveling companions, and all of their Pokémon."

"Inkay may appreciate the offer as well," James said, pulling out his Pokéball and releasing Inkay. "What do you say, Inkay? Would you like to stay at a special Pokémon lodge for a few days?"

"With pampering especially tailored to your needs?" Jessie asked her Gourgeist, who had also just been let out.

"No cares in the woild, plenty of rest and relaxation, our every need catered to…" Meowth was reading from a pamphlet regarding the program that was on the desk, the smile on his face growing wider and wider.

" _Wobbuffet!"_ Wobbuffet exclaimed jubilantly.

Gourgeist and Inkay looked at each other for a second before smiling broadly. "Gourgeist!" Gourgeist said enthusiastically.

"In- _kay!"_ Inkay agreed.

"It's settled then!" smiled the receptionist. "Your Pokémon can go right now if they'd like, to get acquainted with the place."

"Would we ever!" Meowth said eagerly, the other three Pokémon exclaiming their agreement with him simultaneously.

"Wonderful!" said the desk clerk. She pushed a button on the edge of desk and summoned a bellhop. "Please take these four to the Pokémon lodge straight away."

"I'll be retrieving you bright and early tomorrow morning!" Jessie called to them as they were being escorted away.

"Hopefully not _too_ early!" Meowth winked back at her before he and the other Pokémon were whisked out of sight.

"Now let's get the two of you checked into a room…" The receptionist looked up at Jessie and James. "Will you be needing one bed or two?"

The two looked at each other, color rising to both their faces.

"One," they answered in unison.

The receptionist typed away for a few seconds before producing two room keys. "Here you are. Room 901. The elevator is straight down the hallway to your right. Oh, and here's the schedule of events for the Pokémon showcase." She handed Jessie a sheet of paper decorated with a fancy font.

Jessie only had to take one quick look at the sheet before nearly screeching in alarm. "There's a meeting for all performers in only _five minutes?! COME ON!"_ She grabbed James by the wrist and yanked him away from the desk, barreling down the hallway.

"Oh no, not again!" James whimpered.

Jessie nearly zipped right past the elevator, screeching to a halt right before she'd passed it. "You'll have to get everything unpacked and settled in." She handed the one handbag she was carrying to James, who had already been lugging the rest of their belongings himself anyway.

He took it without complaining. "Do you know when you'll be finished?"

Jessie peered down at the schedule. "No." She glanced back up, instantly meeting the disappointed expression he was trying and failing to hide from her, an expression that she was sure she was matching. The meeting couldn't take long, but she felt as if she'd been waiting a thousand years already.

 _Oh, just look how badly he wants me._ Jessie felt like there were a hundred butterfree in her stomach.

"Wait for me in the room," she said gently. "I'll join you as soon as I'm able."

He smiled at her. "I'll be right there, dear."

He could be so sweet, and more often than she previously realized. Even just being there next to him in this quiet moment filled her up with a warm, giddy feeling that she'd never known she could feel before. And she desperately wanted him to fill her up with something _else._ It was almost impossible to understand how someone she'd known for so long could awaken such strong feelings, both tender and fiercely passionate, at the same time no less… but at the moment she didn't really give a damn about understanding.

They both leaned in at the same time, a kiss that should have been somewhat chaste, but Jessie's lips still parted more than they should have. And much to her delight, she could feel James beginning to surrender to her hunger, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to him…

-but then suddenly pulling away from her with an erratic jerk. "Your meeting-!"

" _Oh shit!"_ Jessie shrieked, shooting out of his arms and tearing down the corridor once more.

Funny, she was normally far more focused than this…

…

James had memorized every inch of the cozy, intimate room five times over.

He had read the guest services booklet in the desk drawer—thrice. He had found all of the extra pillows and blankets stored in the closet. He had flipped through all of the channels on the television. He had even alphabetized the shampoo samples in the bathroom.

And, as the afternoon dipped into evening, he sat on the small balcony, watching the sunset over the ocean and allowing himself to munch on a granola bar, his hunger finally strong enough to edge out his anxious anticipation.

The sun was setting already? How many hours had Jessie been gone? James's stomach was certainly claiming a ridiculously high number. He had wanted to wait for Jessie so they could eat together. Or at least so he could order room service shortly before her arrival to make sure her food was warm and waiting for her. Was she getting fed at whatever it was she was doing?

He had actually wanted to do a lot more than eat… take a nap, for one… or run a bath and unwind there for an hour or so, relaxing baths being a privilege he was rarely privy to nowadays. But without knowing if Jessie's return would be in two hours or two minutes, he couldn't let himself get anything substantial started up. When Jessie returned, he was going to be ready for her.

Except he wasn't quite ready. In fact, inside he was panicking.

Anyone with half a brain could tell exactly what Jessie wanted from him—and that wasn't the problem, for James wanted it just as much as she did. But all the desire in the world couldn't make up for the fact that he had no inkling of _how_ to give Jessie exactly what she wanted. She was a very high-maintenance individual, harboring ridiculously high expectations regarding any given situation and turning vicious if they weren't met exactly. Her wrath was definitely a concern, and the knowledge that it would most likely flare up if James fumbled something up was far from absent in his worries. But, more than that, James just wanted to make Jessie happy for her own sake. And in that regard he seemed to be very hit-and-miss, even in areas of relative expertise.

And sex was definitely _not_ one of those areas.

 _Calm down,_ he reasoned with himself, once again standing up to pace the length of the hotel room, closing the balcony door behind him. _Just do what feels natural. She seemed to have no complaints last night._ He blushed at the memory, but also felt a jolt of excitement surge through his body. _No complaints from me, either._

The room was growing dark as the sun's light from the window grew dimmer, so James flipped on a light before flopping down on the bed, trying to collect himself. _Everything will be fine! She understands that I'm inexperienced. Why, she just told me that she is too! We'll figure this out together. She wants this with me… she said so herself…_

James felt a warm, dopey grin break across his face. Whatever it was that had come over him the past few weeks had come over her as well. She had fallen for him. She had said that the two of them together felt right. Despite every previous indication that she never even considered him as a candidate for her romantic fantasies, despite her fierce ultimatum that it could _never_ be him… she still had chosen to take this step. With him. And asserting that James's newly realized affections so brazenly exposed to her… were _mutual…_

In all honesty, and with the way this day had started and seemed to be progressing, he had been growing more and more convinced it had all been a dream… that is, before Jessie had embraced him in front of the elevator.

He sighed in impatience. How the hell long was this meeting of hers going to last, anyway?

The click of a key turning the lock rather abruptly answered his question. James leapt to his feet, a thousand happy waves crashing over him as he took in the only person in the world he wanted to see. _"Jessie!"_

Jessie was like a bullet. The door had hardly been clicked shut and deadbolted a second before she was on him, lips on lips, body against body, pinning him to the wall. A half a second more and James's arms were wrapped around her back, returning her fervor as best he could.

She pulled away with a lidded look that would have caused James's knees to fail to hold him upright if not for Jessie's hold on him and the wall's unfaltering support. "I have been waiting _all day_ for this," she growled sensually, not even giving James time to respond before enveloping him in another urgent kiss. He could barely even react; all his mind and body wanted to do was surrender to her demands. One of her hands tore through his hair and roughly undid the ponytail that he'd forgotten to undo himself earlier. Her lips were possessively claiming him all the while.

James's greatest inclination was to gladly succumb to her lead, but it was prevented from being his only thought process by the nagging realization that he should be, at least to some level, reciprocating the physical attention.

Awkwardly, he fumbled through her hair, not sure how to undo her bun or even where to begin. Jessie pulled back from James just an inch or so to pause, give him a good-natured look of impatience, and raise her hands to join his, guiding them to all of the clips and bobby pins. The gentleness of her touch was in stark contrast to her previous ardor, but it still seemed to weaken James's knees even more.

Enough pins were now out so that long strands of hair were tumbling out of place and down Jessie's back. She still was smiling her seductive, mildly exasperated smirk, but the most miniscule of twitches rippled her shoulders and left eyebrow. To anyone else it would have been inconsequential (if it was even noticed at all), but James knew her well enough to not only notice it, but to know the cause.

High-maintenance indeed… Jessie was so fussy when it came to her hair. It always had to be up and styled out of her face with not one stray hair in sight, and god help anyone caught between her and a bad hair day. The gesture betraying that incredibly slight hesitation was gone as quickly as it had appeared, but the lingering image of it caused James to muse, now more than ever, how absurd her distress regarding her hair was. She looked amazing either way, hair up or down.

And so, realizing with a start that this was something upon which he could (and wanted to) take the initiative, he smoothed out the last loose strands of her hair and told her, tenderly and sincerely, "You're beautiful."

"Of course I am," Jessie responded confidently, but the blush on her cheeks revealed her true gratitude.

This time, James pulled Jessie in for the kiss, but Jessie was quick to respond. She leaned back in, holding him against the wall again with her mouth much more than her hands, which were stroking the length of his torso and unbuttoning his shirt. "Tell me you love me," she said in a throaty growl between kisses.

James blinked, almost too distracted by the actions of her hands and mouth to realize what she'd just requested of him. "You know I d—"

"I want to hear you say it." She moved her hands back to his hair, tangling themselves in his tussled locks as her own hair framed her face and her lidded, yearning eyes. "Tell me."

There was no resisting those eyes, that face, that voice, and they drew the truth out of James like a combee drawing out honey. "I love you," he gasped out in sweet, superlative submission.

"Damn straight," Jessie growled possessively, her lips back on his as she yanked his shirt off. Wanting to help her with this task as much as possible, he hastily tugged the rest of his clothes off himself, pulling away from her only as much as absolutely necessary to do so. Jessie gave pause for just a moment before, with a grin, shimmying out of her dress and pulling her shoes off.

The majority of their clothes now in a pile at their feet, Jessie pressed close to James again, linking her hands around his shoulders, but stopping just short of their lips meeting again. "You get to take the rest off."

Jessie's nearly naked body already pressed against him should have made the prospect of removing the few clothes that were left small potatoes, but her bra made James lock up like an overloaded computer. It was rather skimpy as far as bras went, but the bra wasn't where his focus was at all. _Her breasts. Her cleavage._ Dear lord this bra wasn't covering that much.

"You sure are taking your sweet time." Jessie's voice was a ticking time bomb.

"Can't I enjoy them for a minute?" James protested.

"When the bra's off, you can enjoy them all you like. I insist." She planted a soft, sensual kiss on his lips. "Now quit your stalling and get to it."

James's hands fumbled on the straps, unsurely sliding them down her arms. This was how bras came off, right?

Jessie rolled her eyes. "Honestly, James…" She grabbed his hands again and brought them to her back, placing them on the clasps.

"Oh… here?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"…what are you waiting for?"

"…what am I supposed to—"

"Unhook it, you idiot!"

James's fingers were uncharacteristically clumsy as they worked with the stubborn clasps. "Be fair, Jessie, the rest of you is terribly distracting." Suddenly his fingers broke away from the clasps, now released.

Jessie smirked. "In that case, I suppose I can forgive you."

She didn't have to instruct James on his next step. Grasping the straps he had previously mishandled, he again slid them down her arms, but this time (and with the aid of Jessie holding her arms out in front of her) the garment slid off easily.

Oh merciful heavens, her nipples were _perfect._

But he barely got to look at them for a second before Jessie squeezed against him again. "It's not fair that you're completely naked and I'm still not there yet," she breathed into his ear, reaching down and stroking his firmly erect penis for good measure.

Getting the hint, he forced his hands down to her hips despite desperately longing to touch her breasts and, with a firm yank, pulled down the last bit of her clothing. "Give me some time to take this all in," he said, coming out more like a beg than he'd intended.

Jessie laughed as she slid her panties down her legs and kicked them off. "I told you, I've been waiting for this _all day._ I'm not waiting any longer. _"_ She touched her lips to his again, one hand still lightly grasping his cock. "Touch my breasts," she whispered against his mouth, lips fluttering against his with every word. "Touch me. Everywhere."

James moaned. "Dammit, Jessie," he whimpered, "you know you can just ask me and I'll do it… you don't have to _seduce_ me…"

"Oh yes I do." She grinned. "This is fun." She pressed her lips against his more fully this time, her tongue ferociously parting his lips, as she ground her hips against him, causing his cock to rub against her thighs. James was so overcome with desire that he only barely remembered to follow her orders. One hand cupped a breast and rolled the nipple back and forth with his thumb, the other hand too busy gripping Jessie's waist to do anything else.

Much to James's delight, Jessie voiced her pleasure as well, although hers was much more urgent. Hungrily, she deepened the kiss, yanking James away from the wall and pushing him down onto the bed. He fell without her, but she crawled on top of him hastily, as if it pained her to be separated from him even for a moment. It was still enough of a pause for him to finally take her all in, at least as much as he could with how enraptured he was by her fierceness.

She was… beautiful. Terrifyingly so. The light shining dimly from the lamp on the other side of the bed bathed her in an almost otherworldly glow, as if she were the stunningly gorgeous angel of death coming to collect. Every inch of her skin seemed to tingle with the need to claim her prize.

She situated herself on top of him, the hunger and ferocity in her eyes blazing.

Of all of the things she'd ever wanted in her life, James realized, he'd never witnessed her want anything so desperately until this very moment. It was absolutely overwhelming to know that, after so many insane, zealous pursuits, the one to top them all was… _him._

With her hands steadying his incredibly ready member, Jessie wasted no time. She unceremoniously plopped herself onto him, her wet, warm pussy engulfing his cock completely. James lurched from underneath her, nearly delirious from the sensation of her wrapped around him so tightly like this. "OH-!"

"OH-!" Jessie gasped at the same time. She paused for another precious second, inhaling carefully to compose herself, and James tried to admire her boobs but the sensation of being buried deep inside of her made even that thought a distant whisper.

Of course, the quiet moment didn't last long. Jessie ran her hands through her hair and smiled seductively, raising her hips upward and taking James with her. "You have a nice cock," she said. Hips lowered.

James's nerves were on fire and his brain was goo. "Th-thank… you…" he spluttered.

"And I'm gonna make it _all mine."_ Her hips raised and lowered again, quicker this time. "I'm gonna make _you_ all mine."

"Th-that ship has already sailed," James gasped. Nothing had ever felt so good as her pussy teasing his cock. Nothing at all. His body was a livewire and hers was the spark.

"Mmm, honey," she moaned approvingly, the pace of her hips growing faster with every word. "Could you be any more perfect?" Her course definitively set, she moved against him with a much more deliberate and intense pace.

James let her possess him. There was no other choice. With every grind against him, with every bounce of her breasts, with every gleam of her eye, he was more and more certain that she _was_ the angel of death and escorting him to heaven. He had never imagined death could feel so intoxicating. He was drowning in ecstasy and had no desire to fight to stay afloat.

And she… she was _mad._ Insatiable. She was taking everything from him and yet with every thrust she seemed to demand even more. Oh god what was it she needed so badly? Whatever it was, James knew he needed it just as badly as she did. _Just take it, take whatever you want, take everything,_ he silently pled, and as he surrendered to her body he felt himself catapult over the edge and release inside of her with a tremor that rippled his entire body.

Shocked, Jessie jerked to a halt, bewilderment written across her fierce, perfect face. "W-wait… did you just… _finish? Already?!"_

Somehow, amidst the aftershocks of ecstasy still blanketing him, the long-since silenced rational thinking area of James's brain had a flicker of a thought that he might have irrevocably bungled this state of affairs. His eyes blinked a few times before finally comprehending her expression, one of confusion transforming into ire.

Oh, shit.

"That was only thirty seconds, tops!" Jessie cried, eyes blazing with fury. "You didn't even give me a _chance!"_

James opened his mouth to say something, but it had dried up.

" _I was rather looking forward to a nice orgasm, too!"_

"In my defense," James squeaked out, "you came on _very_ strong—"

"Excuse me?"

She was angry and every word he spoke was another hammer of the nails into his coffin, but he would be damned if she'd continue like this without him mounting at least the tiniest defense. "You completely took control and—not that I'm complaining—but you took control over _everything—_ I couldn't—"

"Oh, so you're blaming your little premature blast-off on _me?!"_ Jessie shrieked.

"You could have employed a slower pace, that's all!"

"So now I'm supposed to feel guilty because _you_ can't keep up?! It's not my fault that you can't—I don't know—that you can't accept how I operate!"

"Jessie," James implored her, "that's not what I meant—"

"No, but I can read between the lines." She abruptly rolled off of him and stood up off the bed, the sudden sensation of his penis freed again startling James to the point that he barely even registered what she said next. "Next time will be better. I'm going to go clean off now."

He couldn't make himself move. He felt like a cad. He had failed at the most basic of tasks, to please her when she couldn't keep herself off of him. He couldn't even hold himself back for a minute to make the fornication last any respectable amount of time. And—

-wait, _next time?_

She wanted a next time? She was willing to give him another chance?

Love and wonderment engulfed him and tugged his worried frown up to a dopey grin.

…clean off?

If he didn't get the bathroom first he wasn't going to get it for _hours._

He bolted upright, nearly falling off the bed. "Jessie-!"

Too late. The bathroom door was already shut.

His face fell, but only a little bit. The afterglow and hope of a better second try at being intimate was more than enough to override the annoyance at having to wait for the bathroom. He made his way to the closet to find a towel to last during the interim, allowing happy thoughts to bubble through his brain once more.


	2. Chapter 2

Jessie wasn't sure why she was already awake, she only knew that it was _far_ too early to be so.

She refused to open her eyes, not wanting even the tiniest bit of light to coax her mind into believing that this was a reasonable hour to be up.

And yet, of course, her mind wanted to stay awake and jabber anyway.

Ugh. Why was her mind racing a million miles an hour when all her body wanted was to go back to sleep? It should have been the easiest thing in the world. She shouldn't have even woken up in the first place. This bed was like sleeping on a cloud. No position was an uncomfortable one. But using that fact to quell the thousand other thoughts zipping around her brain was proving incredibly unsuccessful.

There were other soothing, relaxing thoughts to dwell on that might quiet everything else, Jessie reasoned. She shifted her shoulders and only then became aware of the arm draped over her torso.

It was James, of course, and not only was his arm positioned in such a way, but to Jessie's surprise, their bodies were curled up against each other, her back pressed against his chest, and his slow, steady breaths against her neck ignited goosebumps down her spine. Their sleeping position was unexpected, to say the least—sure, they had slept against each other, bodies touching, many times in the past… but never outright _spooning_ like this.

Not that Jessie was complaining.

 _Oh, he loves me so much,_ she thought to herself, eyes fluttering awake. The corners of her mouth tugged up in a grin that she was sure looked far too giddy for daylight to witness. She snuggled against him, reveling in the blissful sensation of being loved and wanted so badly. The soft terry cloth of the bathrobes the hotel had provided was gentle and comforting against their skin as she pressed their bodies closer together. She couldn't even remember the last time she had felt so… secure. Untroubled. Cherished. In fact, she was pretty sure she'd _never_ felt as perfectly right with the world as she did right at that moment, sinking into the plush, feathery heaven of the mattress, with the man she so surprisingly loved right there with her, holding her tenderly.

Jessie sighed happily, blinking a few times against the still pitch-black room. Her eyes focused on the one source of light—the digital clock on the nightstand. 4:58 AM.

Her happy smile faded into annoyance. _Damn my brain firing up all its cylinders already! Why can't I just sleep in for once?!_

James, still asleep, murmured incoherently into her neck.

Jessie's heart fluttered.

 _Might as well enjoy the moment._

She rolled over so that she was facing him, carefully so as not to wake him or jostle his arm. Her backside now felt strangely exposed, but examining his sleeping form more than made up for it.

It was so bizarre, she ruminated, at how she'd previously believed that she'd known this man inside and out, and yet now it was like looking at this whole new side to him that had somehow been beyond her recognition. The way his hair fell over his eyes, the way his chest rose and fell with every breath, the way his fingers on the hand that wasn't upon her back curled ever so slightly into his palm… oh sure, she had seen all of these before, she had seen him sleep before. Nothing about this was new. And yet everything was.

Had he always been this beautiful? Again, she'd always acknowledged he was kind of unnaturally pretty, and when he got excited about some silly, inconsequential thing he'd get this look in his eyes that could without question unwittingly charm some poor, unsuspecting sap. But had she _really_ noticed? She acknowledged the allure; how had it taken her this long to succumb to it? Had she really just been too stupid to realize her feelings until he'd had to spell them out for her?

Every good and even mildly exasperating quality of his seemed to be magnified a thousand times in her heart, countless new feelings and affections erupting in her soul. She wanted to immerse herself in every last one.

She reached out her hand to stroke his hair out of his face, her fingers relishing the feel of his skin and her lips desperate to feel it, too. Abruptly, she started to lean in, but just as abruptly stopped herself a second later.

This had been her problem last night, she admitted. She had gone too damn fast. She needed to slow down, allow herself to enjoy these rare quiet, tender moments. The hungry ache pulsating through her entire body and demanding a response was strong, however. _Too_ strong. So she pulled her hand back, afraid of herself. _Take it easy,_ she demanded her body, _he's not going anywhere!_ Her libido didn't give a damn.

The sudden movements caused James to shift uneasily, and Jessie silently cursed herself. He didn't open his eyes, but she knew she had awakened him. "What time is it?" he mumbled, his lips barely moving.

"Five," she said softly and apologetically.

He made a vaguely grumpy sounding noise, still not awake enough to manage anything else.

Jessie cautiously allowed herself to play with a strand of his hair. "Breakfast is at seven. I suppose this gives us some time to prepare for the day."

"You can; I'm going back to sleep." This ultimatum lasted all of three seconds before his eyes creaked open anyway. As he grew more and more focused, his mouth tugged upwards into a dreamy smile, holding her gaze intently.

Lord above, but he was _irresistible._ Jessie had closed the distance between their faces before she was even cognizant of it, tasting him and possessing him. She could feel his smile deepen against her lips as he responded in kind. And she could feel her crotch twinge with desire again—

— _too fast too fast TOO FAST!_

She pushed herself away from him, yelping out a loud "WHOA!" as she did so, much to her embarrassment. What, was she trying to subdue an unruly rapidash? James looked confused and more than a little hurt.

"Don't try to guilt-trip me with that look!" Jessie shrieked, her voice rising with conviction at complete odds with her heart. "You know what happened last time I just gave in to you like that! I lost control! And we _both_ ended up disappointed because of it! I don't want to go that fast again, but—"

"I wasn't disappointed," James protested. "I—I mean," he added hastily, in response to Jessie's sudden death glare, "I was disappointed that you weren't able to enjoy the nice finish that I did—"

"You wanted to go slower," Jessie insisted. "I could tell that you did. I rushed you."

"A bit," James admitted.

"I want to go slower too, but—I _can't!"_ She grimaced, an uncomfortable and unwelcome wave of self-loathing rippling through her body. "My body has a will of its own. I really couldn't control it. I couldn't stop. I was completely starved and you were the first meal I'd seen in days, if you'll allow me to indulge in a simile. It was never enough." Her voice fell flat. She felt flat. Her spirit felt crushed. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"It's not wrong," James said, leaning in so that he could gently press his forehead against hers. "It was very characteristic of you, in fact."

Jessie wasn't sure if that was meant to be uplifting or not, because even though his gesture and tone seemed to indicate that it was, she certainly couldn't take it that way. "Not being able to control myself is characteristic of me?" She sounded more hysterical than she'd realized, and if she hadn't been lying on her side she would have staggered over with the knowledge that her tenuous-at-best hold on her emotions meant that he was absolutely right. "Am I really that— _unstable?"_

She was a wreck. She wasn't amazing, she wasn't charismatic and charming… maybe she was pretty but that didn't matter when her psyche was a mess.

"I didn't mean it like that, dear," James said quickly. "I meant that whenever you want something, you're not satisfied until you have it. You're very determined that way. You don't let anyone stop you from getting what you want! Except maybe a very stubborn little twerp…"

"Oh, don't even mention the twerp right now," Jessie groaned. "I sometimes think someone or something has permanently shielded him from any permanent misfortunes befalling him."

"But look who's come the closest to breaking that shield—us! And that's mostly because of _you._ When Meowth and I are ready to give up, you're the one rallying us and pushing onward. We—I—wouldn't be anywhere without you."

Jessie sighed. What a nice effort James was putting up for her. "Rather creative way of you to talk about my personality failings, dear."

"It's how I see you," James answered honestly. "It's not a failing, and there's nothing wrong with you—not in my eyes, anyway."

Jessie blinked back sudden, grateful tears. He was wonderful and beautiful and perfect and she loved the shit out of him and couldn't fathom how it had taken her this long to realize it and she wanted to hold him and kiss him and strip him naked and ride him and come all over him and make him come deep inside of her and—

She carefully pulled away from him and lay flat on her back, focusing intently on the ceiling because it was there. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing, James. I don't trust myself."

She felt his hand carefully entwine itself in hers. "I trust you."

Dammit. She could not ignore the ache in her heart, or her groin for that matter. She rolled her head to the side to look him in the eye again.

"Then you need to take control for me."

He hesitated, no real change in his expression other than slight confusion, his hand still grasping hers.

Jessie sighed. "Do I need to explain _everything_ for you? I want you to take control this time. Love me. Slowly. Teach me now."

James's face flushed and his blinking increased rapidly. "What makes you think I have any idea how to do that, either?"

"You have a better idea than I do. If I'm in the driver's seat again I'll just break us. I don't want to break us. You're right about me. Losing control is my basic operating mode. And when it's in full swing, it gets messy." She looked back up at the ceiling, not even really wanting to look at that, either. "I break things too much."

James finally pushed himself up onto his elbows and stroked a loose strand of Jessie's hair. Jessie's brain shrieked; she really needed to get her ass out of bed and style it. "Jessie, dear, you've never broken me."

Jessie snorted harshly. "Like hell I haven't. You've borne the brunt of my outbursts. You're the most mangled, damaged creature left in my wake!"

James moved so that his chest was on top of hers and gave her an imploring stare. Jessie's breathing hitched. "A lot of people have broken me," he said, "but you're not one of them. …In fact, you're one of the only things that keeps me held together." A hand was back in her hair, and this time Jessie completely forgot that it was a mess at all. "Thank you for that."

He gazed at her for a few moments with a nigh-unreadable expression. It almost looked like… reverence? Disbelief? Complete awe? Jessie couldn't decipher it, but it completely filled her with adoration and bliss, so she quickly decided that deciphering it wasn't a priority at the moment.

James seemed to be coming undone, letting out a small little sigh as his eyes trembled with tears. Jessie nearly mimicked him, overwhelmed with emotions, but she didn't have a chance to actually break down from tears before James's lips were on hers in a grateful, passionate kiss. It was assertive and definite, but not overwhelmingly fanatical like hers would have been. Jessie somehow managed to take mental notes as her heart began to conquer the rest of her body.

He pulled away slowly, taking her in as if he'd never seen her before now. _I was so wild and unhinged last night, he probably really hasn't,_ she noted.

Still, though, she gave him a small smile, feeling heat rising to her cheeks. "You're welcome," she said.

James smiled too, thankful tears rolling down his cheeks.

Jessie held her smile. "Now make love to me, please," she said, surprising herself at how calm she kept her voice.

James leaned down and gave her another gentle kiss, one hand making its way to her side. Then, nothing. He pulled away from the kiss, hesitation settling into his features.

Jessie sighed, hoping she didn't sound overly impatient. "It's fine. Do whatever you like. If you do something I don't like, I'll tell you."

"Try to tell and not _yell,"_ said James. He almost sounded snarky, but the relief in his tone was too great for Jessie to hear anything else. She'd probably never get over how adorable he was.

"I'll do my best," she answered, smiling at him. "No promises, though."

James gulped, although he was still gazing at her with an overjoyed, lovesick expression through his tears. "Your best will be more than enough."

Carefully and deliberately, he brought his lips to hers again, the kiss lingering for only a bit. She gave a sharp inhale as he started to move his kisses down from her lips to her neck, and she had to clench her fists and grit her teeth to keep herself from just taking him. _Calm down. Calm down. Savor this. Oh dear god this feels so amazing, I NEED to savor this._

James certainly appeared to be savoring this, at least. His kisses were slow and feathery against her skin, as if he was handling a fragile, priceless possession… almost like he was afraid he'd shatter her. Or that she'd shatter him. Wait, no, that was Jessie's fear. She tried to relax and yet all she did was tense up more, trying to stop herself.

"Are you okay?" he whispered against her neck.

She shivered and moaned out loud, her fists finally unclenching as the urge to conquer was very abruptly replaced with the urge to surrender. God damn she'd happily give up control in order to feel this pure ecstasy.

" _Yes,"_ she answered him, having to refocus her gaze at him because at some point she'd arched her neck back. "Please keep going."

His hands eased to her torso, stopping for just a moment on her breasts before moving down to the tied sash of her bathrobe. As he continued to torment her neckline with soft, delicate kisses, his hands deftly undid the bathrobe's tie, in sharp contrast to how much he had fumbled with her bra the night before. He broke away from her momentarily to part the now undone robe, exposing her bare torso and breasts to him. It occurred to Jessie (after growing dismayed that he had even briefly ceased kissing her) that with how wild and reckless she had been the last time, this was probably James's first good look at her breasts, too. Strangely this realization didn't make her feel too exposed or vulnerable.

Instead, she gave him a flirty smile, allowing herself to take initiative for just one moment. She reached up one hand and gave a quick yank on the sash on James's robe, also undoing it. Getting the hint, James smiled too and shrugged himself out of it as Jessie also pulled her arms out of her sleeves, leaving herself completely unclothed with the bathrobe sprawled underneath her like a beach towel.

With both of them now completely naked, Jessie assumed that this would be the moment where James finally stopped holding back (especially seeing how ready his cock seemed to be), but agonizingly so, he didn't. He instead returned to his position of mercilessly teasing her with unhurried, gentle kisses, but the kisses were now moving down to her uncovered breasts. After what felt like an eternity he finally caught a taut nipple in his mouth, and Jessie closed her eyes and rocked back as she moaned with unexpectedly intense pleasure.

Dear god… why wasn't he doing more? Why wasn't he just giving in to his desires and pounding the living shit out of her? Sure, she had asked him to go slow (and she certainly wasn't complaining), but just _how_ was he able to be in such control of himself?

 _Don't wonder, don't think, just savor this…_

He pulled his face away from her breast seemingly just to gaze at her again, still with that same overcome, completely infatuated gaze he'd kept this entire time.

A lump of emotion caught itself in Jessie's throat. _He loves me this much to… hold back like this?_

She had an active imagination, sure, but she'd never expected for love or sex to be this… completely _overwhelming_ before.

James put his mouth on Jessie's other nipple, gently tantalizing her some more. Jessie could hardly think straight. All she knew was that she both wanted to stay like this for ages and yet she also wanted his penis deep inside of her and ramming her like there was no tomorrow. Her crotch silently begged for the latter. For now, her desperate hand would have to make do.

She had been completely unprepared for the intensity of these sensations… and not just now, either. Last night she had been a woman unhinged. And the unsatisfying outcome more than proved that she had no idea how to even go about this. She'd always figured she'd get the hang of this whole sex thing as she moved up and up the ladder of desirable men, at some point finally reaching perfection in both the man and her own sexual prowess. Never in her wildest dreams had she predicted that she'd instead find herself naked and underneath James— _James_ of all people!—and not only as a total novice, but also with no intention of trading him in for an upgrade anytime soon.

James finally moved his head back up to meet hers, his lips sweeping up hers in another tender kiss as one hand carefully massaged the breast he had just been sucking. Jessie let out another moan into his mouth. Who friggin' cared that this wasn't what she'd planned? She doubted anyone else could ever love her like James did, after all.

Wait.

Was… was that it, then? Was she _settling?_

Jessie's stomach pinched uncomfortably. _No I am not settling! I'm with James because I love him!_ She entwined her arms around his back to prove it.

But did she only love him because she realized that no one else other than him could love _her?_ That there was no one else in the world stupid enough to put up with her for this long? Was she just accepting her fate and taking what she could get?

Was her mind trying to friggin' _sabotage the best unexpected decision she'd ever made in her LIFE just because it always needed to OVERCOMPLICATE THINGS and couldn't rest until she was MISERABLE FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE?!_

Well, if it was, then it was doing a fantastic job of it.

Jessie let out another gasp, although this one was a bit choked and desperate. _"James,"_ she whimpered, planting her hands on his shoulders and pushing his lips away from hers, "t-tell me you love me!"

Poor James looked utterly taken aback. "This again? Why—"

"I need to hear you say it!"

"This isn't like you!"

"Seeking out others' approval and adoration is _exactly_ like me!"

James sighed. "Jessie, dear," he said, touching his forehead back to hers, "you know I love you, and you know you don't need to seek out my approval and adoration—you've always had it. Please calm down."

"You're literally the only person on earth who's ever loved me!" Jessie cried, her voice breaking. _"No one else has ever loved me! I'M AN UNLOVEABLE FREAK! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!"_

"There's nothing wrong with you!" James insisted, frantically trying to pacify her.

" _I'm broken and I'm breaking you and I just want to be loved and—make love to me RIGHT NOW!"_ She gripped his shoulder forcefully with one hand, the other burrowing into his hair.

"What do you think I was doing before you interrupted me?" James asked, incredulous.

"Exactly what I wanted you to do—oh god. I'm a wreck. I—I'm losing control again. Please put your dick inside of me _now._ I need it so badly I'm about to explode."

For the first time since their foreplay had started, James moved a bit hastily, clamoring up to a kneeling position and slightly parting Jessie's legs. "I'm sorry if I went too slowly."

"Would you quit apologizing already? You were amazing, I'm just—I'm just a total mess right now! And all I can think about is getting you deep inside of me again!"

He finally answered her plea as he carefully eased himself into her, both of them letting out gasps of arousal, not yet accustomed to this feeling. "To tell the truth," James murmured with some effort, leaning back down and tenderly placing his hands on the sides of her face, "that's about all I was able to think of, too."

Jessie moved her hands to his face as well. "You love me," she stated, quietly, simply, as a matter of fact.

"I do. Very much." He abruptly pressed his lips on hers again in an affirming kiss.

"You're an idiot," she said into his mouth.

"Maybe… but not about this." He kept his lips on hers and rocked his hips, causing both of them to softly moan into each other. "Dammit, Jessie, you feel so good," he whispered.

"Make that double for you." Her nails still digging into his back, Jessie moved against him, wordlessly urging him to continue. With every thrust into her body, she matched him, drowning in the feeling of being so filled both physically and emotionally. He adored her, and she loved him back, passionately.

…because he was all she was ever going to get and she was just settling.

 _Goddammit, NO!_ she berated herself. _I genuinely love him, and would even if I actually DID have my pick of guys, since he's sweet and adorable and accepts me for who I am! Because no one else has… literally NO ONE ELSE has… but even if someone else did… but it's IMPOSSIBLE, what the hell is wrong with him—what the hell is wrong with ME?!_

She grinded against him in a futile attempt to permanently blot those destructive thoughts from her mind, her nails digging even deeper into his skin. She barely even registered his lips still raggedly moving against her jawline, desperately tasting her and taking her in, in sharp contrast to how slowly and deliberately he was still thrusting into her. Deep and hard, yes, but also unhurried and steady. She could have screamed if it wasn't so tantalizing and hot. Damn. Damn damn damn damn—

James suddenly let out a throaty gasp against her neck and stopped his movements against her, panting. Jessie froze, just barely feeling the concluding twitches of his penis inside of her.

 _Shit!_

"Oh… oh shit!" James swore, realizing what he had just done, again.

"Did you just…" Jessie was thunderstruck. Seriously… _again?_ Had she really just coaxed him into a premature ejaculation _again,_ all because her stupid brain wouldn't shut up and her stupid pussy couldn't take things easy?

God. Fucking. _Dammit._

"Oh my god… I'm so sorry." James looked and sounded absolutely mortified.

" _Fuck!"_ Jessie hissed, wanting to punch him. Or herself. Or both.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I—" James was almost pleading, looking as if he were on the verge of tears. "I didn't mean to, Jessie, I swear."

"Look, you know what?" Jessie roughly pushed James off of her, not wanting to look at him. She didn't need her already bad feelings further compounded by his. "Maybe, you know, maybe we both care about each other but we're just too messed up to make this work out."

As if he self-sabotaging couldn't grow any worse. Was she out of her mind? She had just explicitly given him an out, one that would be so easy to take, too. And although no one would ever love her again, at least she couldn't break anyone else if she were alone… Sitting up and still looking away from James, she felt herself choke from bitter tears springing up. Why was it her happiness and the wellbeing of those she cared about always at such horrible odds?

James frantically clasped Jessie's hands in his own, although Jessie still pointedly looked away from him. "Please don't say that!" he pleaded. "I'll try harder to last longer, I promise!"

"It's not just about _that,"_ Jessie snapped. "But I think it does show that maybe we're just not as compatible as we'd like to think we are."

"I don't believe that. You don't believe that… do you?" He helplessly collapsed his face into her shoulder, tears streaming down his face and her skin, and flung his arms around her body, forcing Jessie to finally look at him with pity and guilt. "Please don't write us off so quickly, Jessie! Give me another chance! I'll try harder to be who you need me to be—I promise!"

"James," sighed Jessie, her own throat constricting, "I just gave you an _out._ Why aren't you taking it?"

"I don't _want_ an out!" he cried incredulously. "I want _you!"_ He pulled his face away from her shoulder and moved his hands back to hers, eyes earnestly beseeching her through his tears as he continued. "We can work this out, I know we can! We have to at least try! You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I won't lose you that easily. Please give us another chance."

She had been wrong. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world. No out in the world would be easy enough for James to take. Jessie nodded, blinking her tears back into her body. "You're right. I don't know what came over me. Of course. Things like this don't just happen, they take work… it was foolish of me to think otherwise. Of course." She returned his earnest expression, squeezing his hands reassuringly. "We're still on."

"Thank you!" James brought Jessie's hands to his lips and kissed them fervently, seemingly too overcome with gratitude and joy to say or do anything else. Jessie smiled, leaning in closer to him…

…and suddenly became cognizant of the wet mess they—or rather James—had left between her legs and on the sheets.

Jessie awkwardly shifted her legs. "That's quite the mess," she remarked.

James looked down and physically recoiled a bit, clearly a bit mortified. "Oh dear… was it really that much?"

"Hey, I'm just glad I can get such a reaction from you," Jessie said with a wink. "Even if it was far too early an arrival for my liking…"

"Perhaps I should leave a tip or something for housekeeping to make up for the mess I've made…"

Jessie laughed lightly. "Really, James, I'm sure they've seen far worse. Besides, it should be dry by the time they get here to clean, anyway."

"I'm not taking any chances!" James clumsily leapt to his feet and dashed to the closet, pulling out a few spare towels. Trying to hold back a stronger laugh, Jessie observed his quick, precise dabbing at the slick sheets with a wry smile. Once again, she couldn't get over how adorable he was, even when flustered like this. She might have been easily angered by him, but said anger was also very quick to fade.

"You missed a spot," she said coyly, parting her legs a bit so that he didn't miss the insinuation.

James only took half a second to meet his eyes with hers, and only half a second more for realization to ignite in them. Still using a careful motion, he brought the towel to her inner thighs, daubing them dry with the slightest of touches, like a feather against silk. Jessie sighed, closing her eyes in surrender and overcome again by flutters and the aching hunger inside of her that had yet to find gratification. How in the hell did something so light and barely noticeable ignite her body so much? …and why did it still seem to take far more than that to get her to actually climax from the overwhelming sensations? How much more did her body want, anyway?

She hadn't realized how closely she was leaning into James until her eyes opened again and were greeted with his returning her gaze, mere inches away. For a few moments they were motionless, Jessie wordlessly imploring James to continue with the thought she knew he was struggling with putting into words.

Finally he spoke, guardedly, and the tiniest bit of color flushed to his cheeks. "Do you still want to come?"

"That's a stupid question," Jessie replied, quickly grabbing the towel still clutched in his hand and flinging it away. She gladly leaned into him as his fingers found their way inside of her.

Over twenty-four hours of unfulfilled longing , coupled with his nimble fingers giving avid equal attention to both her vagina and her clitoris, meant that Jessie nearly came the second he started, arching her back and moaning into James's shoulder as he intently rubbed his fingers against her. She gasped out syllables that she hoped formed at least semi-coherent words, already so close to the edge that she was surprised at how she teetered on the brink for a few delirious moments. Finally, she could hold back no longer, and she let him guide her in toppling over the edge with a sharp, impassioned cry. As much as she wanted to experience it again, she managed to pull his hand out of her, too raw to endure a second go.

Instead, she almost laughed against him, shaking from her much yearned for release. "God dammit you're good at that," she breathed, her lips grazing his shoulder.

James wrapped his arms around her tightly. "So… that was acceptable?"

"Yeah, that'll do." She laughed again as she soaked up this heaven, never wanting to pull away from him. "I think we'll be alright."

James pressed his lips against her temple, wordlessly giving her his thanks. Jessie nestled her face into his chest. Thank god he was sane enough to talk her out of insisting that they could never work. _I may be the queen of self-sabotaging, but no way in hell will I let myself destroy this!_

She felt James glance to the side and slump a bit in disappointment. "It's only 5:30?"

"Should be enough time for me to get ready for the day." Jessie carefully pushed herself off the bed and to a standing position, but stopped when she saw James's pathetic expression.

"What about me?" he whined.

"Okay, fine, you can have the bathroom first," Jessie sighed in resignation. "But you'd better not take too long."

James also stood up and grasped Jessie's hands in his. "You can come with me. We can share it!"

"Share the bathroom?" Jessie's further questioning was halted when the look on James's face clued her into his reasoning. "Wait... is this because you just don't want to be apart from me, even for a little bit?"

"Um… yes?" James shrugged, smiling abashedly. "You'll be rehearsing all day and I won't be around you much today anyway…"

Jessie smiled. "You are way too adorable," she said, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Come on. Just don't even _think_ about hogging the mirror."


	3. Chapter 3

As Team Rocket finished up their breakfast in the café located in the nook off the lobby, Jessie spoke excitedly over the murmur of other hotel guests and clinking silverware, gesturing to her printed schedule as she did so. "…I figure around noon or so we can take a quick lunch break, and then it's back to work on our freestyle performance! If we can spare time for a break around three I suppose we can squeeze one in, but then it's practice, practice, practice until dinner back here at the hotel at seven!"

Wobbuffet and Gourgeist, who normally regarded their trainer with reverence if not all-out awe, were paling a bit at the demanding schedule Jessie was laying before them, exchanging wary glances. Meowth, on the other hand, had no qualms against voicing his grievances.

"You tryin' to wear us so thin we'll snap?" he protested.

"Did I or did I not just say that I was willing to schedule in a break?" Jessie shot back. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were just planning to lounge around all day! There's no time for dicking around! We _have_ to win this one!"

James, meanwhile, handed his last croissant to Inkay, who gobbled it up eagerly. While his newfound intimacy with Jessie was more marvelous than he'd ever dared to imagine, at times like this he was happy to stay back and just observe her as a detached outsider. After all, he quite liked the view… she was at her most determined and fiery at the moment, and while it did scare him a bit, this was also the Jessie that he knew and loved so well. And Jessie was never sexier than she was when she had her mind so thoroughly made up on her next course of action towards personal fulfillment— and of course, that Jessie was often best (and most safely) enjoyed from a distance.

"We can't win if you literally woik us to death!" Meowth countered grumpily.

"You know I will be rehearsing right along with you, right?" Jessie asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm asking no more of you than what I expect of me!"

"Expect a little _less_ outta you, then!"

Wanting to defuse the impending blowup between his two companions (or at least delay it to when they had already left, keeping him safely away), James piped up quickly, "Jessie, dear, when did you say you'd be returning again?"

Jessie turned her attentions to James, chirping cheerfully, "Dinnertime. Seven o'clock. It'll be held in the ballroom, all participants and their guests are invited, and my understanding is that there'll be a dance and a DJ afterwards. They pull out all the stops for us here, don't they?"

"That's quite a long time you'll be gone. What about lunch?"

"Lunch isn't really indicated on the schedule. Actually, nothing is between now and dinnertime. I suppose we're all on our own for lunch." Jessie shrugged lightly. "If I see you around then we can have that meal together too, but don't wait up for us."

"Oh," said James casually, trying to hide his disappointment.

"Aw, poor James," Meowth teased, a bite in his voice. "Having to hang around all day with nothing to ease his boredom but spas, pools, salons, gift shops, fine dining establishments…"

"We are not here for a _vacation!"_ Jessie snapped at him. "Now have you finished eating so we can get started?"

"I suppose so," Meowth sighed, moving his paws so that Jessie could collect his plate. She gathered his and her Pokémon's trash so fast that Wobbuffet had to scramble to shove another bite of crepes into his mouth.

"Wob-wobba," he said sadly as Jessie was already halfway to the trash receptacles.

"Gee, Wobbuffet, you look almost as downcast as James," said Meowth. He looked at James and smirked. "Whatever will he do without his sweet honey-boo around?"

"…what did you call her?" James asked, blinking, his mouth contorting into befuddled shock. _"Honey-boo?"_

Meowth just laughed. Wobbuffet, Gourgeist, and Inkay all exchanged knowing smiles as well, and the realization as to why crashed into James like a charging tauros.

And Jessie, who hadn't taken her time dumping the remains of breakfast in the trash, had returned with ample time to witness and discover what Meowth had done, too. "Meowth! Did you tell them about us?"

"You're objecting to _that_ over him calling you a honey-boo?" James asked, surprised.

"You think I was gonna keep quiet about something like _this?"_ Meowth laughed. "Of course I told them! And why shouldn't I? It's a bit of info that's important to all of us as a whole, ain't it?"

"True… and this isn't exactly something we can hide, not from our Pokémon, at least," James admitted.

"Well then," huffed Jessie, "I suppose since everything's out in the open and there's no secrets between any of us, I can bid farewell to James in the most over-the-top way possible." She strolled over to him, yanked him up out of his chair, and smothered him in a crushing, exaggerated kiss.

"I really should know better than to encourage her," sighed Meowth. Inkay, Gourgeist, and Wobbuffet, too busy staring at the spectacle with emotions running the gamut from astonished to approving, said nothing.

"Try to not get too bored without me, dear," Jessie said equably, pulling away from James and straightening his collar.

"Try to not get too carried away with your routine," James quipped back.

"Me? Carried away?" Jessie laughed haughtily. "Everyone _else_ will be carried away when they witness me—carried away with _jealousy!_ Wobbuffet! Gourgeist! Meowth! Let's go!" She twirled on one heel and snapped her fingers, motioning for her co-performers to follow.

"Ya don't gotta _snap,"_ Meowth grumbled. He trailed a bit behind Wobbuffet and Gourgeist, who were obediently if still a bit apprehensively following Jessie to begin what would surely be a grueling day of preparation.

"I'll see you at dinner, then!" James called after them as they disappeared out of the main hotel doors. Inkay floated near his ear with a cheeky smile.

"In- _kaaaaay,"_ he said with a smirk.

"Oh, wipe that smile off of your face," said James, sounding about as threatening as a docile skitty. "I don't know what Meowth told you, but I assure you that the reality is hardly interesting or important."

"Inkay," said Inkay skeptically.

James sighed. "Yes, I am a bad liar, aren't I? Come on. We should decide how we're going to spend our day to ourselves."

Inkay brightened. "Inkay!"

…

"Is everyone in place?" Jessie called out.

"Yep, just like the last eighteen times!" Meowth answered, annoyed.

" _Practice makes perfect!"_ Jessie shrieked in response.

"Yeah, whatever. Why do I gotta be the one to throw the glitter, again?"

"Because you don't have the moves that Wobbuffet and Gourgeist do. Now shut up!" Jessie looked upon the outdoor practice field with determination, where Wobbuffet waited patiently about ten yards ahead of her and Gourgeist hovered above him. She couldn't see Meowth, but knew he was a little further past Wobbuffet. "On my count… one… two… THREE!"

As gracefully and quickly as she could, Jessie pranced her way to Wobbuffet, grabbing him and flinging him in the air. "Wobbuffet!" he called out jubilantly.

"Now seed bomb, Gourgeist—and counter, Wobbuffet!" Jessie instructed.

"Gour-GEIST!" Gourgeist shrieked, the seeds shooting out from her rapid-fire.

Wobbuffet, meanwhile, had reached his apex in the air at just the right time. His body glowed in anticipation just before Gourgeist's seed bomb reached him. The attack bounced off him, hurtling back through the air like a canopy over Jessie and Meowth, who had reached her and clamored on top of her head. As the seeds fell, Jessie twirled below them as Meowth tossed pawfuls of glitter towards the seeds, creating a sparkling shower. Gourgeist reached Wobbuffet and grabbed him before he fell back down to the ground, spinning him in the air as well. The glitter bounded off of him just as the seeds had.

"Now, leech seed staircase!" Jessie exclaimed.

Very carefully, Gourgeist released Wobbuffet behind her just as Meowth pushed himself off of Jessie's shoulder. The trajectory of the path this time, unlike the other eighteen times, was perfect, and Wobbuffet was able to grab Meowth flawlessly and softly land back on the ground. Meanwhile, Gourgeist shot out more seeds, having to accurately aim and place them into a block staircase in front of Jessie. The attempt appeared to start successfully, and Jessie, triumphant, began to ascend with her arms outstretched.

This was further than their previous attempts had gotten, and Gourgeist was so excited at how everything was coming together that she momentarily forgot to continue planting seeds for Jessie's staircase, too busy happily watching her—and thus got to witness the full shock and blunder as Jessie took one step too far and, with a shriek, tumbled down. Horrified, Gourgeist frantically tried to rectify her mistake by producing and firing off another seed building block, but as both the structure and Jessie were in the midst of collapsing to the ground, all it did was hit Jessie square in the face. Meowth and Wobbuffet ran to the rescue—and only served to cushion Jessie's fall, as she landed on Wobbuffet, who in turn landed on Meowth.

It was a desperate and apologetic Gourgeist who zoomed back down to the ground to help her trainer. "Gourgeist gourgeist!" she cried wretchedly, extending a limb to help Jessie back on her feet.

"Dammit," Jessie grumbled as she hoisted herself up with Gourgeist's help, although her curse was not directed at her Pokémon.

"Wobbuffettttttttt," groaned Wobbuffet, struggling to get upright himself.

"Ouch," Meowth squeaked brokenly from underneath Wobbuffet.

"I know I'm distracting, Gourgeist, but try to keep your focus on the performance!" Jessie groused, with a sigh that was more weary than angry.

"Gourgeist," Gourgeist said apologetically.

"Man, you know we've been at this forever—you're too tired to even be angry," Meowth commented, rubbing a sore limb as Wobbuffet finally pushed himself off the ground and erect.

"I'm not tired. Nowhere near tired." Blazing eyes and a confident smirk helped back up that statement. "But… well, even if that hadn't happened, I still haven't figured out what to do after that." She plopped down on the ground, resting her chin in her palms. "We need something exciting. Something new. Something grand. Something that'll stand out and ensure our place as the crowd's favorite."

"Which would be…"

Jessie sighed. "That's the problem. I don't know. I keep drawing up blanks." She looked towards Meowth and her Pokémon. "Do any of you have ideas?"

"Er… not particularly," Meowth admitted, as Gourgeist and Wobbuffet exchanged a hapless look. "I'm sure the four of us together can think of somethin', though!"

"You three can put your heads together. I think better in solitude." Jessie stood up and pointedly made her way over to a bench on the sidelines.

Meowth sighed. "Whatever. We can think up a positively poifect ending without her. Maybe we could use _actual_ bombs!"

"Gourgeist!" Gourgeist looked a bit aghast.

"Aw, ya weenie. It wouldn't be _that_ dangerous. Besides, have you got any better ideas?"

"Gourgeist… gourgeist-geist."

"Now that's just _stupid."_

" _Gourgeist!"_ Now Gourgeist just sounded offended.

"Don't gimme that! I'm putting my foot down on any formations involving hearts! Especially since glitter's already involved! C'mon, Wobbuffet, back me up here!"

Silence. Both Meowth and Gourgeist turned their heads to the left… and to the right… but no matter where they looked, Wobbuffet was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, cheese and crackers!" Meowth spluttered, Gourgeist letting out something sounding like a mild curse as well. _"Wobbuffet! Where are you?!"_

"Gourgeist!" Gourgeist called, floating up in the air to get a better look.

But Wobbuffet had already made considerable distance away from the group, dead set in following the shiny caterpie that had crawled in front of him just after Jessie had left them to think up a routine. The yellow caterpie seemed to be moving so intently towards its unknown destination that Wobbuffet felt absolutely compelled to follow it and learn just where it was so keen on reaching, Jessie and the performance rehearsal blotted out of his consciousness. It scurried along at a surprisingly rapid pace, and Wobbuffet had to hustle to keep up. The caterpie turned and locked eyes for a moment with Wobbuffet, apparently aware it was being followed and wanting to make sure its tracker was keeping up. Wobbuffet stumbled after it, nearly tripping over his tail in the process.

Hovering above, Gourgeist finally spotted Wobbuffet, who to her horror was not only making a beeline away from them, but away from the Ocean Paradise resort area entirely. Panic clouding her senses, she didn't think to alert either Meowth or Jessie to Wobbuffet's current location, instead giving a shriek and zipping after him, her only thought grabbing him and bringing him back.

Meanwhile, on the practice field, Meowth gripped his head in alarm and continued to rapidly look back and forth for his missing teammate for only a few moments before doing what Gourgeist had failed to do: "Jessie! _Jessie!_ We gotta problem here!"

"Would you stop yelling, I'm trying to _think!"_ Jessie spat out, snapping around to face Meowth. Her anger quickly evaporated when she realized he was the only Pokémon she was addressing. "Meowth… where are—"

"That's what I'm tryin' ta tell ya, Wobbuffet's _missing!"_

"Wobbuffet—and what about Gourgeist?"

"She—" Meowth again frantically examined the area around him, his expression falling to an even more flustered and anxious one, if that was even possible. "She was just here with me, I swear!"

" _Shit!"_ hissed Jessie, leaping to her feet. "Shit shit shit shit _shit!"_

"Can ya not do that, you're makin' my ears bleed—"

"Shut up and help me find them!" Jessie snatched Meowth by the arm and flew down the practice field, leaving him no room for any further complaints.

…

The shiny caterpie was a fast little Pokémon, and it had already made its way to a confident perch on a branch at the Vigroux City docks before stopping again to glance at Wobbuffet, still in vigorous pursuit.

"Wobba…" Wobbuffet had to stop for a moment, not only to catch his breath, but to gaze in awe at where he had ended up. Vigroux City was more than just a tourist locale; it was also a port. Mix the two together, and you've got a prime cruise destination. The cruise ship currently docked was grand in scale, towering above Wobbuffet like a mountain. The tourists mulling about the dock looked like miniscule insects in comparison. He froze in place, and so did the caterpie, both daunted and in awe.

And then the caterpie leapt off its perch, apparently deciding that it was due for a cruise. It inched its way down the slope and to the dock. Wobbuffet jolted out of his torpor and resumed the chase, with a demanding call of "Wobbuf- _fet!"_ in an attempt to get the small bug Pokémon to slow down.

This call did nothing to alter the caterpie's speed or intended destination, but it did alert Gourgeist, still frantically searching for Wobbuffet from the air, to his presence. She, too, was momentarily a bit taken aback by the imposing ship, screeching to a halt mid-air with a tiny squeak of "Gourgeist!" exhaled from her lungs like a contracting squeezebox. A flash of blue on the ground shot straight to her brain and pushed her forward, and she gave a little shriek of anxious annoyance as the reminder of her mission flooded her focus again.

The shiny caterpie had made it to the hull of the ship and was crawling up on a stabilizing rope inconspicuously. Catching up, Wobbuffet flung himself at the same mooring rope with a loud, brash cry of _"Wobbuffet!"_ , making him considerably less conspicuous than his prey. Blind to the questioning stares of onlookers at the bizarre sight, Wobbuffet hoisted himself up on the rope and awkwardly tried to follow, although weak arms and even weaker legs made the attempt mostly fruitless, and completely pathetic. The caterpie had more than enough time to ascend the rope… and Gourgeist had more than enough time to finally catch up to Wobbuffet.

Her accusing shriek was ear-piercing, and Wobbuffet gave a rare flush of shame as she reminded him of where he was _supposed_ to be and what the bleep did he think he was doing, anyway? And Wobbuffet struggled to get a word in—an even rarer struggle for him—as he tried desperately to explain just how captivatingly _remarkable_ that caterpie was, that the drive to follow it was more a compulsion than a choice, if she had seen it herself she'd understand—and Gourgeist shrieked again in frustration, nearly breaking his eardrums, so much that the ship's horn blasting was muted in comparison.

But the slow lurch of the ship and the loosening of the mooring rope from the dock got through crystal clear.

Wobbuffet, still clutching the rope that was now only attached to a moving ship (yes, a ship that was moving slowly, but still moving away from land), and Gourgeist, still hovering near him, stared at each other in dread, mouths agape, for a good ten seconds.

Wobbuffet then looked down at the water that was now underneath him, and at the rope that was still in his grasp, and concluded that as unskilled he was at rope climbing, he was apt to be even _less_ successful at swimming.

And so, with a squeaky yelp of "Wobbuffet!", he chose to remove himself from the threat of the ocean in the only way he could at the moment—by awkwardly yet quickly shimmying up the rope as fast as his mitts could take him.

" _Gourgeist!"_ Gourgeist shrieked, trying to stop him. Wobbuffet would have none of it. Fear of a watery plummet gave him a momentary burst of competence as he hustled up the rope and hoisted himself over the ledge of the ship's promenade deck as if he'd been rope climbing his entire life. A furious Gourgeist was right behind him.

And back on land, Jessie had torn her way through the numerous tourist kiosks and food vendors dotted along the boardwalk with only just enough time to witness her Pokémon disappearing behind the ship's railing.

She screamed like a banshee and took off again, sprinting down towards the dock and the departing ship, still with a death-grip on Meowth who flapped and fluttered behind her running form like a windsock.

"I don't know what you just saw, but please _don't let go of me!"_ Meowth begged, his words nearly lost in the rush.

" _I—cannot—BELIEVE—those two!"_ Her voice sounded as if it could slice through steel.

"Can you just tell me what's going oooOOOOOONNNNNN!"

Meowth's question was cut short in the worst possible way as Jessie took a flying leap at another rope dangling off the ship. She gathered the rope in her free hand and flung the arm that Meowth was attached to around the rope tightly, and upon seeing where they had ended up and how precarious their current situation was, it was Meowth's turn to let out a scream.

"Hold on to my arm! I need two hands to do this!"

"Jessie, are you out of your _mind?!"_

"Wobbuffet and Gourgeist are on this ship! I have no clue _WHY_ they're on this ship, but we're going to find them and we're going to find out! Now hold on!"

Meowth desperately wrapped his limbs around Jessie's arm, freeing her other hand to grab onto the rope and stabilize herself. "It'd better be a pretty stinkin' good reason to make you put me through all this—but I doubt it!"

Jessie scaled the rope expertly, even despite the fact that she was in her cocktail dress and high heels, and also that she was being guided more by rage than rationality. "There is no reason in the _world_ good enough for them to ditch rehearsal—and _me!—_ like this! After all of this there had better damn well be sheets of _gold_ on this ship—and if there isn't, _heads will roll!"_

"My head ain't involved in this kerfuffle, just a friendly reminder!"

Jessie snapped her head in Meowth's direction, eyes blazing. _"You're the one who let them wander off in the FIRST place!"_

"Lay off!" Meowth snapped back. "They're your Pokémon, not mine! Which means they're _your_ responsibility!"

" _They're your responsibility now because if I don't find them SOMEONE is going to have to answer to me!"_ Jessie had reached the top of the rope and swung herself over the railing and onto the deck. Meowth continued to cling to her arm, still terrified, but probably now less of their perilous situation and more just of Jessie herself. "They could be anywhere on this ship by now. We've got to search for them!"

"Split up?" Meowth suggested, trying to unlock his limbs and release his hold on her arm, although terror was obviously still pumping through his veins and holding him in place.

" _NO!_ This ship is far too big—it's going to hard enough to find Wobbuffet and Gourgeist, and I don't want to have to spend half the day trying to find you again, too!"

"Good thinking—but where are we even gonna start looking?"

"Anywhere—everywhere! Come on!" Jessie took off again down the deck, before Meowth had a chance to fully pry himself away from her—and probably for the best, as she was once again blazing a path like a fearow on speed.

"Why me?" Meowth groaned, bracing himself for yet another rough, insane ride.

…

Unbeknownst to Jessie, Wobbuffet and Gourgeist were quite some distance away from her. They had made their ascent on the port side of the ship, while Jessie and Meowth had climbed up a loose rope on the starboard side. Wobbuffet was moving as fast as he could, trying to catch a glimpse of the shiny caterpie that had kicked off this whole mess in an attempt, however feeble, to vindicate himself to Gourgeist, but said bug Pokémon seemed to have completely vanished. Wobbuffet braced himself for a chewing-out by his companion, but Gourgeist's anger had run its course quickly. While still clearly annoyed with him, Gourgeist now seemed a bit in awe of and distracted by their new locale, gazing up at the top deck of the ship where hundreds of passengers were already swimming, tanning, or enjoying drinks at the bar. And the scent of the food from the snack shack adjacent to the pool was wafting its way down to the two wayward Pokémon, and it smelled so delectable that soon Wobbuffet had forgotten all about the shiny caterpie, and Gourgeist had forgotten all about their rehearsal.

Wobbuffet suggested to Gourgeist that they grab a bite to eat, and Gourgeist was in enthusiastic agreement. She examined the flow of passengers, both on their deck and from what she could see on the decks above them, and noted that that they were both arriving and leaving through somewhere in the center of the ship. Motioning for Wobbuffet to follow her, she weaved her way through the excited cruise goers, Wobbuffet dutifully trailing her. As they moved closer and closer to the center, they spotted a row of three elevators.

Exclaiming jubilantly at their discovery, they rushed the rest of the way, Wobbuffet practically smacking the up arrow button. As they awaited the elevator, he and Gourgeist eagerly discussed how amazing the food smelled and how good it was going to taste, especially after that scrumptious breakfast in the hotel lobby area that morning and the gourmet specialty Pokémon food that they had dined on last night (both sharing an approving laugh at the memory of Meowth confidently declaring that "this food is too good for the likes of humans!"). The center elevator dinged and the doors opened, and after letting a ship's officer step out, Wobbuffet and Gourgeist jumped in.

"Wobbuffet?" Wobbuffet asked, not knowing which button to push.

"Gour… geist…" Gourgeist breathed, not looking at Wobbuffet or any of the buttons. Instead, she was looking at the poster on the wall of the elevator cab… advertising the buffet on level nine. The poster was almost overflowing with images of entrees, pastries, salads, desserts, and grill options. Pokémon rarely drooled, but Gourgeist had a puddle forming in her mouth as she gaped, slack-jawed, at the picture.

Wobbuffet, curious, turned his attentions to the poster, and almost immediately assumed the same posture and expression as Gourgeist. "Wobb… wobba…"

The two Pokémon looked at each other for a few moments.

And then both nodded in understanding.

Wobbuffet slapped the "9" button on the elevator with conviction.


	4. Chapter 4

"Okay, so lemme lay this out for you—there's eleven levels on this floating resort, this ship's as big as a wailord—so tell me, again, how you expect to find two relatively small Pokémon on board?!"

Jessie glared at Meowth with eyes like daggers. "Are you suggesting that I just _give up_ and leave my Pokémon onboard and never see them again?"

Meowth sighed. _"No,_ you drama queen—I'm suggesting that we have some sort of plan in place to avoid this whole debacle toinin' into a wild goose chase!"

"I know Wobbuffet and Gourgeist like the back of my hand," Jessie said confidently. "We'll find them. And they're going to wish I'd _never_ found them," she added darkly.

Meowth looked back and forth at the cheerful tourists shuffling about them, their minds only on the start of their happy voyage. "Okay, and then what? I ain't exactly sure how you plan on getting all of us off a cruise ship."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Jessie groused. Plowing her way through the passengers (Meowth still clinging desperately to her forearm), she spun her head back and forth, looking for her two runaway Pokémon, the conflicting desires of wanting to find them safe and wanting to harangue them until she was blue in the face meeting in a strange, unexpected harmony in her consciousness.

How could her loyal Pokémon abandon her like this? They had seemed so dedicated to her that Jessie would have never imagined they'd leave her high and dry. A desperate recess of her mind still clung to the hope that there was something valuable onboard that they had been pursuing, but the nagging suspicion that she had pushed them too far during practice refused to silence itself. Had they finally snapped, decided that her mood swings weren't worth it? It was maddening and painful to ponder. After all, both James and Meowth were free to choose anything or anyone else at the end of the day, and yet she could never question their devotion, especially after the surprising events of the last few days had unfolded. She shouldn't have ever had reason to question the devotion of her Pokémon, either… after all, Jessie was their _trainer._ Their devotion to her should have been unconditional. Were her methods so alienating that she had managed to push away her own Pokémon, beings who normally would have followed her into the depths of hell itself? Was that why they had abandoned her so readily, why they had left her up shit creek without a paddle? Were James and Meowth next?

Jessie didn't want to consider that rationalization. And, as the length of time that her Pokémon had gone missing grew longer and longer, she certainly didn't want to exacerbate the problem by putzing around and giving them more and more reason to hightail it away from her.

"Think, Meowth!" she growled, pushing her panicked worries aside. "We're on a veritable floating nirvana. Where would they go? Where would _you_ go?"

"Someplace with food," Meowth admitted.

"Seems to be a reasonable assumption for them, too," Jessie decided, her attentions diverted to figuring out where on the ship they currently were and where two hungry and desperate Pokémon would traverse.

"There's probably lots of restaurants on this ship," Meowth said. "This still doesn't really narrow anything down."

"At least it gives us a starting place." Jessie stopped short, her probing leading her straight to the three elevators located in the center of the ship. "We should search every restaurant on board until we find them."

Despite himself, Meowth brightened a bit. "As long as we can grab some samples at each place, I ain't got no problems with that."

"We're not here for a buffet!" Jessie snapped. "Although… do you think these a fancy cruise like this would have a buffet or two?"

"I'd say that's a safe bet."

"Then we'll try there first."

"Alright… you got a map or do you just plan to use echolocation?"

Jessie paused, not wanting to admit Meowth had a point. It was all well and good to take charge and attempt to rectify this situation, but all of the gallant intentions in the world couldn't make up for the fact that she didn't actually know where to proceed next.

But then her eye caught a glimpse of something on the wall near the elevators, and she smiled. "There's a map. Right by the elevators. Looks like it lists everything by level!" She fought her way through the throngs of people to get a better look, not bothering to apologize to anyone whose toes she stepped on or sides she jabbed, Meowth still attached to her arm and giving her victims an apologetic look.

"There's a buffet on level nine!" she proclaimed triumphantly after a quick glance at the map. "TO THE ELEVATOR, MEOWTH!"

The left elevator dinged and its doors opened a second later, a young couple having already called the elevator. Jessie muscled her way through and leapt in, Meowth along for the ride and just shrugging to the passengers.

The young couple exchanged a glance. "We'll just take the next one."

"Your loss!" Jessie sneered. The doors closed before she could get in another jab.

"Man, Jess, you should bottle up your rage and sell it as a repellant," Meowth remarked, finally releasing his grip from Jessie's arm and dropping to the floor.

 _"If you don't shut your mouth I'll shut it for you!"_ Jessie fumed, taking out her anger on the "9" button with a loud smack. "The sooner we find Wobbuffet and Gourgeist and get off this boat, the better!"

"Come on, it ain't that bad," Meowth countered. "There are woise places to end up!"

"Oh really?" Veins seemed to be about ready to pop out from Jessie's forehead. "We need a large practice field to prepare for our showcase that's _tomorrow,_ practicing that _should_ be happening right now—but we're steadily moving away from land, trying to find two Pokémon on a ship this size will be like finding a needle in a haystack, James is back at the hotel and has no clue where we currently are—need I go on?"

"Nah, I get the picture." Meowth gave Jessie a large smile in an attempt, however moot, to lift her spirits. "But hey, at least we got food and indoor plumbing for once!"

Jessie opened her mouth to shoot back another complaint when the elevator suddenly shuddered and lurched to an abrupt stop, the lights flickering twice before plunging the cab in complete darkness. She and Meowth both shrieked in surprise and terror.

"Are you kidding me?!" Jessie screamed once her initial shock morphed into realization of what had happened. _"Are you freaking kidding me right now?!"_

"Oh man, now we're _really_ up a creek!"

 _"You think?!"_

"Quit your screechin'! There's gotta be an emoigency call button somewhere…"

BONK!

 _"OW! Watch where you're going!"_

 _"I'm trying but I can't see a thing in—OUCH! That's my TAIL!"_

 _"Well keep your tail away from my FEET!"_

 _"Ya want me to find the button or not?!"_

 _"Oh for the love of—STAND STILL!_ I'll find it!" Jessie fumbled in the dark and grazed her hand along the wall until she found the elevator buttons, hitting each one, hoping to find at least one that worked. None did.

"Oh yeah, if the power's out none of the buttons are gonna work…" Meowth mused.

 _"If you have nothing helpful to say kindly STUFF IT!"_

"Me, stuff it? _Never!_ Listen, they're gonna have to realize soon that one of their elevators ain't woikin'. They'll get us outta here in no time. In the meantime, to save either one of us from going nuts without anything to see _or_ hear, I'm gonna keep yappin' my flap!"

"I don't _want_ to talk." Drained, Jessie slumped against the left wall of the elevator cab, her shoulders sagging pathetically. The one good thing about the power being out was that Meowth couldn't actually see her like this. "I just want to scream. Today has been nothing but a shitstorm!"

"It wasn't all bad, was it?" Meowth asked, his voice coming from the other side of the elevator cab, cautiously encouraging. "We got a good start to your freestyle routine, at least. That's something!"

"It's nothing when your Pokémon apparently hate your guts so much that they cut and run the first chance they get."

"That ain't the case and you know it. They think the world of you, you know."

Jessie seethed, blinking back angry tears. "They sure do a piss-poor job of showing it."

"Whattaya talkin' about? Look at how long they've stuck by your side despite the raw hand we always seem to get in life—Wobbuffet especially, I can barely remember a time without him! They wouldn't have hung around a fraction of that time if they didn't really care about you!"

Jessie clicked her tongue, hiding her confused and frustrated internal screaming. Meowth was right, of course, and ages of loyal dedication certainly couldn't be negated by simply one day of intense training. Besides… she was _Jessie!_ Her class and style more than made up for any difficulties in dealing with her, and being told that she commanded such allegiance should have been a no-brainer. Allegiance from her Pokémon, from Meowth, from James… of course all that was very firmly hers.

Why, then, was she still scared of going too far, of crossing the ultimate line that would drive them all way from her, permanently? She couldn't shake the fear, despite herself. Maybe she really _was_ impossible to put up with. Either that or none of her companions were as patient and tolerant as she'd previously believed. She was terrified of the former, and not too crazy about the latter, either.

"Am I just stupid, Meowth?" Jessie blurted out. "I'm either stupid for doubting how much you all care, or _you're_ all stupid for caring for me after everything we've put up with."

"I think we're _all_ stupid," Meowth admitted candidly, surprising Jessie. "But we're all stupid together, and we've been through things that have brought us all closer than anything else in the woild could." There was a slight pause. Jessie wished she could see Meowth's expression. "And you wanna know how I know _I'm_ stupid?" he finally continued. "I wouldn't trade any of those experiences for nothin'! You know how much of the woild I've gotten to see being with youse two? None of that woulda been in the cards for me if I'da just been somebody's house pet. Sure, we've had some real crummy times, but we've had lots of great times, too! Yeah, it's probably stupid of me, but I'd rather be stupid than sedentary."

Jessie finally smiled genuinely. "I suppose I feel the same way… although I'd rather not be either." She hesitated, wanting to speak and yet not wanting to lay herself bare at the same time. "I just feel so stupid about… everything. Stupid to not realize when I might be too close to pushing you all too far. Stupid… stupid to be stuck sitting here and not even know how or why any of this happened!"

"Eh, that's not stupid," Meowth said. "That's just not payin' attention to anything outside of yourself."

"And not doing that _is_ stupid." Jessie sighed, her mind drifting back to wondering what James was up to at that moment, and while she thought she would have been nothing but jealous with the knowledge that whatever he was doing he wasn't stuck in a depowered elevator on a huge cruise going who-knows-where, she was surprised that all she was feeling was the dull ache of missing him. "Meowth… tell me the truth. James and I ending up together… was it obvious? Was I just blind all this time? I can't stop believing that now…"

Meowth gave a bit of a wry laugh, one that was hard to interpret without seeing the expression that went along with it. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Jess. …No offense, but I never figured he was your type."

"Yeah… neither did I," Jessie admitted quietly. "I guess I'm just full of surprises."

"Yeah, a real enigma," Meowth teased. "I still don't have you figured out."

"Yeah, well, that makes two of us." She sighed. "I'm not even mad right now, I just miss him. Isn't that weird?"

"Cut the crap, Jess… you are _too_ mad. You just want two people to complain to instead of only one."

Jessie smirked, and a sharp laugh escaped her lips. "I don't need any reason more than that, now do I?"

"Yeah, that's more like it."

"Why haven't any of these numbskulls noticed that their elevators are stuck yet?" Jessie grumbled. "Surely they should have been tipped off by now!"

"It could be just _this_ one. If the other two are still runnin' normally, they ain't gonna notice just one outta commission for a while yet."

"What did I tell you about shutting that big mouth of yours if you had nothing helpful to say?!"

"I got the feeling that we're gonna be in here awhile…"

 _"SHUT! UP!"_

…

With lots of Team Rocket experience under their belts, Wobbuffet and Gourgeist knew better than to just waltz into the main buffet area and expect a free meal. No, they had learned that life was tough, especially when one was a criminal (or was associated with criminals)… but on that note, they also could sneak and steal with the best of them.

Besides, even taking into account how much food was arranged in the main dining area, the two Pokémon knew that that amount would be tenfold in the back.

Wobbuffet flung open the back pantry door, only barely remembering to stop himself from proudly proclaiming his name for all to hear. The chefs and waiters were all currently occupied out in the dining area by singing an elaborate happy birthday number to a very well-dressed guest, the two Pokémon ample time to rush to the storage area, into which hopefully the buffet workers wouldn't have to venture for awhile anyway.

The food here was merely scratch ingredients, not the cooked confections that awaited the customers, but Wobbuffet and Gourgeist were so overjoyed with the sheer amount of comestibles that they were perfectly happy with assembling their own plates. Gourgeist zipped over to a row of bagged croutons with an ecstatic squeal, while Wobbuffet wobbled over to the large storage freezer as fast as his stubby appendages could carry him. As Gourgeist grabbed a bag and yanked it from its perch, a plate to the side rattled and nearly tumbled off along with it. She shot out one feathery limb to catch it, the other still grasping the crouton bag.

She grinned widely when she saw what the mystery platter contained—a full plate of Poképuffs! They seemed to be the only already-made pastries in the entire pantry, and they smelled absolutely delicious. Gourgeist called to Wobbuffet, sharing the news of her wonderful discovery.

Wobbuffet poked his head out of the walk-in freezer, a large tub of ice cream in his arms. Hearing what Gourgeist had found, he happily joined her, placing the ice cream between the 'puffs and the croutons. Gourgeist, meanwhile, tore open the bag of croutons and popped one into her mouth. Wobbuffet was holding two spoons that he had found somewhere and handed one to Gourgeist before he himself dug in to the ice cream.

The pumpkin Pokémon let out an excited laugh, exclaiming how wonderful everything looked and smelled… in fact, she'd gladly stay there all day if she could and just gorge herself. Wobbuffet nodded in understanding, if not in agreement, reminding Gourgeist that they would have to get back to shore and meet up with Jessie before the day was done. Exchanging a rather guilty look, the two Pokémon nodded, concurring their decision to eat quickly and then waste no time getting back to their trainer. As wonderfully distracting as everything on this ship was (especially the food), both Pokémon had no intention of abandoning Jessie, or even making her wait long for them. (Unfortunately, both Pokémon also had no sense of time, neither realizing just how long they had actually been gone.)

They both scooped a spoonful of ice cream, pleased with how refreshed they were feeling and how much better they would be during rehearsals today and the showcase tomorrow. Gourgeist reached out with her other feeler and grabbed one of the scrumptious looking Poképuffs to go with her bite, casually tossing aside a small sheet of paper topping the 'puffs. She split the 'puff in half and gave one half to Wobbuffet with a smile. Wobbuffet took it, thanking her profusely. The two friends swallowed their halves in one go, the taste and texture so appealing that both immediately reached for another, the note fluttering to the ground and forgotten.

Forgotten or remembered, it didn't really matter, as neither one could read. If they could, though, perhaps they would have held back upon reading that these were extra special Poképuffs, baked with a special ingredient… making them more fit for an after dinner snack at the end of the day. The ingredient was alcohol, in a large enough amount that made each 'puff quite boozy.

Wobbuffet and Gourgeist gobbled them all.

…

Back on land, things at the resort were frightfully dull.

James sighed as he stood up and pushed in his chair at the small café on the main hotel floor, finishing the last bite of his unsatisfying sandwich with a final swig of soda, carefully pocketing the small bottle cap. Inkay seemed a bit more pleased with the pastries he had had for lunch, or was pleased with his surroundings at least, and quickly floated to his trainer's side in an attempt to lift his spirits. James gave Inkay a small, grateful smile.

"Seems Jessie and the others are giving their rehearsal their all," he said. "That means my hopes of sharing lunchtime with them are dashed, of course, but at least they're utilizing their time to perfect their routine to the fullest."

"Inkay," Inkay said, nodding in agreement.

James glanced at the large, ornate clock above the check-in desk and groaned, seeing it was only 12:32. This was shaping up to be the longest day of his life. At least he'd finally gotten over the halfway point. He knew, logically, that he shouldn't be bored… there was plenty to do and see here, after all. The problem was that he and Inkay had already done all of it. Well, everything that James had any interest in doing, that is, which wasn't much more than soaking in the hot tub and steaming in the sauna for a few relaxing hours. Sure, there were salons and fancy restaurants that served the most glamorous three-course meals, all the kind of establishments that Jessie was inextricably drawn to… but having grown up in that world himself, James had had more than enough exposure to that pompous, hollow existence. Even in Jessie's company it was only barely tolerable; without her, he felt it start to suffocate him, as if the air from his lungs was extracted from every ritzy ode to extravagance he passed.

"Let's go back to the room," James said aloud to Inkay, surprised at how worn-down he sounded. The atmosphere took more out of him than he'd realized. "Taking everything into consideration, the most appealing activity to pursue next is taking a nice long nap."

"Inkay!" Inkay sounded enthusiastic.

"Not only will some rest be welcome, but sleeping will make the day go by faster." He headed towards the elevators, keeping his eyes away from the hostile reminders of his youth at every turn.

"'Kay!" Inkay just seemed happy to go wherever James wanted to go. James smiled fondly. Inkay hadn't been in his Pokéball once today, instead accompanying him everywhere in this sprawling labyrinth of a resort. He was happy for the company, and despite the language barrier, Inkay was proving to be a welcome companion through this long, lonesome day.

"Seems doubtful I'll sleep for five hours, though… unfortunately." James frowned as he pushed the up button, summoning the elevator. Inkay gave him an inquisitive look. "But that's a good thing!" James exclaimed with a burst of insight. "That give me plenty of time to figure out—" One of the elevator's doors dinged open and James stopped his sentence in its tracks. As close as he was to his Pokémon, he wasn't feeling open enough to discuss the issues he was currently facing in his love life. Wasn't really their business… at all.

However, Inkay's curiosity was already piqued. "Inkay?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with." James felt his face burn with embarrassment, stepping into the elevator and pressing the 9 button. Inkay followed him with a smirk.

James tried to ignore his Pokémon, pointedly directing his focus to the matter at hand. He had had a whole day to work on fixing his earlier blunders, and yet had wasted half of it by just bumming around and selfishly thinking only of himself and his own desires. Jessie deserved better than that… she deserved _so much_ better than that, and he hadn't even started to put in the effort of bettering himself for her sake. What a failure he was. Above all else, even his own well-being, he knew he had to commit himself to learning how to be a better partner to her, in every way imaginable.

Including in bed.

He flushed, the inability to comprehend any greater ecstasy than what he had encountered while intimate with her manifesting itself in such horrid contrast with the reality that he had not been able to return it in kind. Every tender emotion that had for god knows how long been buried within him without his knowledge seemed to be exploding out of him as if from a burst dam… every time he was with her now, especially intimately, he felt almost knocked back with the depth and intensity of his love for her, but perhaps the sheer magnitude of these feelings was so unexpected and sudden that he was left helpless with how to deal with them. Much to Jessie's detriment, unfortunately. James looked down at the floor of the elevator cab, despising himself. He wasn't even half the person she deserved… and even then she was gracious enough to him another chance… a chance he was currently squandering.

Jolted out of his funk with a newfound resolve, James stood up straighter, fierce determination flashing across his face. No, he was not going to nap this afternoon. He was going to pour every ounce of energy he had into learning how to make Jessie satisfied. She deserved nothing less than all the effort he could possibly give her.

"New plan, Inkay!" he announced assuredly. "You're free to nap or spend the afternoon however you choose, but I have research to be conducting—starting now!" As the elevator dinged their arrival at their floor and the doors opened, James pulled his Team Rocket-issued tablet out of his jacket pocket, instantly switching it on.

Inkay hovered over his shoulder inquisitively as they headed towards their hotel room. "Innnnn….?"

"I can do this research myself, thank you," James said tersely, trying to still be polite. "Again, it's nothing you need concern yourself with." He protectively hunched over his device, shielding the screen from view, as he unlocked the door to his room. "Believe me, there are many better uses for _your_ time than attempting to find the solution to a problem that is mine and mine alone." He shut the door behind him, sat down on the edge of the bed, and brought up the online search engine on his tablet, a sudden frightful thought that headquarters was keeping tabs on his searches only after he'd typed his query and hit "enter".

"Inkaaay?" The Pokémon almost sounded a bit offended.

"Oh, Inkay, don't take it so personally," James said reassuringly. His attempt at being polite had apparently backfired. "I only wish to avoid bothering you with difficulties brought on solely from my own ignorance, through no fault of your own—while I appreciate your support, it isn't fair to accept your help for an issue that is mine and no one else's—WAIT DON'T LOOK AT THAT!"

Inkay's hurt tone and expression were now gone as he gleefully hovered again above James's shoulder, a shocked smile on his face as he saw just what the search term had brought up—the screen was filled with various instructional photos of attractive couples in different sexual positions, and Inkay's reaction couldn't have been more favorable, once he was over his initial astonishment.

Even James slamming the tablet screen side down on the bed in utter mortification couldn't wipe the grin off of Inkay's face. "Wipe that dirty smile off your face, this is for research purposes _only,_ you depraved denizen of debauchery!"

Inkay didn't comply with that request, instead giving James an approving leer. "In- _kaaaay."_

James flushed ten shades of red, covering the full gamut of emotions from anger to embarrassment. "This is a side of you of which I was previously unware. And I wish I was _still_ unaware."

"In- _kay!"_


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the slight delay in getting this one up. And sorry for the lack of James in this chapter. He'll be back in the next one!

As always, thanks for your reviews and continued support!

…

"…take one down, pass it around, eighty-one bottles of beer on the wall! Eighty-one—"

" _You keep this up any longer and you're going to get eighty-one knuckle sandwiches!"_

"Well, excuse me!" Meowth had a bit of a bite to his voice. "Gotta keep myself occupied somehow, and you don't seem to have any better ideas!"

"Oh no, I have a _perfect_ idea!" Jessie clenched her fists so tightly she could feel her nails dig into her palm; the only thing keeping her from swinging one at Meowth was the fact that it was still pitch-black inside the elevator cab and she couldn't be sure of where her fist would land. "Let's _break this cab apart from the inside and get ourselves out of this hellhole!"_

"That ain't a better idea… that would just bruise our beautiful bodies."

"Not with some powerful attacks! And with my brute force and your fury swipes breaking open the ceiling—"

"Didja leave your brain back on shore? You know my fury swipes ain't that powerful!"

" _WELL IT'S BETTER THAN JUST SITTING HERE!"_

"Hey! You in the elevator!"

The muffled voice from outside sliced through Jessie and Meowth's argument like a hot knife, stunning both of them so much that their squabble was stopped short. "Don't worry, we're about to get you out! We're working on prying the doors open now."

" _Well it's about TIME!"_ Jessie snarled. "Do you even know how long we've been in here?! I have so many better things to do than sit in a dead elevator all day!"

"Oh, thank the maker, they're savin' me from you!" Meowth exclaimed.

Jessie couldn't tell if he was being facetious or not. She elected to not dwell on that conundrum and instead continued to address her savior. "Now finally we can retrieve our little deserters and get back to—"

The sudden harsh light that flooded the elevator cab stifled the rest of Jessie's sentence, and she furiously blinked and rubbed her eyes as they attempted to grow re-accustomed to the brightness. Through her blinks, she was able to make out three figures, which slowly grew into focus revealing one to be a ship's engineer and the other two as security guards.

"There you are!" The engineer looked extremely remorseful. "Please accept our most sincere apologies for the trouble you've been through. We'd like to make it up to you by providing a discount on all your purchases made onboard during the entire length of the cruise. May I see your boarding pass, please?"

Jessie blanched. "Erm… boarding pass?"

"We've found her." One of the security guards grinned unpleasantly with his words, causing the engineer to grow a bit confused and Jessie and Meowth to exchange an anxious glance. "We've found the stowaway."

"Excuse me!" Jessie huffed, frantically pushing words out of her mouth in the vain hope of giving herself an alibi. "I am no stowaway! I of course paid for my passage—I just—my boarding pass—it, um—it fell down the elevator shaft! Yes! That's it!"

"Did this happen before or after you climbed onto the ship as it was leaving the docks?" The security guard pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to Jessie—a security camera image of her ascending the rope, mad resolve in her face, a terrified Meowth clutching to her arm like a lifeline.

Jessie fumed. "Well, I never! You could have at least gotten a better angle of me—that is _so_ not my best side!"

Meowth groaned. "Our goose is cooked!"

The other security guard glared at them, unamused. "You're coming with us. Both you and your freaky talking meowth."

"Hey! Who you callin' freaky?!"

Jessie shrieked as she was roughly grabbed under the arms and pulled off the floor by the first security guard. "That is no way to handle a lady! And _I am not a stowaway, dammit!"_

"Make your case to our boss," the second guard said impatiently. "If you are in fact a paying customer then that'll be in our records and we'll be able to escort you to your room. But because you don't have your boarding pass on you, you'll have to come with us so we can verify that you're supposed to be here." He reached down and plucked Meowth off of the ground.

SWIPE!

"GET YOUR MITTS OFFA ME!"

" _OUCH!"_ The guard dropped Meowth and brought his hands to his slashed face. Meowth bolted. The other guard let go of Jessie and fell on his face trying unsuccessfully to grab Meowth before he dashed out of the elevator cab.

" _Get back here! Don't let it run off!"_

"Baby, we were born to run!" Jessie yelped, leaping to her feet and trying to make a quick exit as well—unfortunately, the guard that had grabbed her was still sprawled in her way. She tripped and tumbled over and on him most ungracefully. The scratched guard was still clutching his face and yowling painfully, and the engineer was trying to move away as quietly yet swiftly as possible. Jessie took only half a second to recompose herself, push her hands against the felled guard's shoulders, and vaulted upright again, running after—

SLAM! She fell forward again as her left leg flew behind her, her right ankle grasped firmly by the guard on the ground. "You're not going _anywhere,_ lady!" In an instant he was standing and had brought her with him, expertly pinning her arms behind her.

" _Unhand me this instant!"_ Jessie shrieked, struggling futilely to break free.

The scratched guard finally brought his hands away from his face and restrained her by the shoulders, further negating any chance of escaping. "You had your chance to go with us quietly, but you blew it."

" _I don't do anything quietly! Now let me go! I don't have time for this! MEOWTH!_ _ **MEOWTH!"**_

Meowth didn't hear her. The distance was not so great that he couldn't, at least under normal circumstances, but his escape route had shot him directly into a moving mass of passengers and rendered him trapped underfoot. His path seemed to be predetermined, and Meowth's anger quickly became anxious worry as his senses were clogged; all he could see were feet, all he could hear was a nonsensical jumble of voices, and he had no clue where he was going, how close behind him Jessie was… or if she had even gotten away from their captors at all.

He extended his claws once again, his instinct fueled by fear rather than fury this time, but before any unsuspecting shins became the victims of his next lash-out the group around him suddenly fanned out, setting Meowth relatively loose again. For the crowd had made their way through the narrow door, now able to disperse into their destination—the onboard casino.

The noisy, colorful commotion of slot machines pulled them like magnets, their footsteps falling in time with each and every electronic beep. Meowth watched them, mesmerized. He had never been inside a casino before and had never witnessed _anything_ quite like this. It was almost like Jessie in front of a camera, or James catching sight of a new bottle cap. The passengers were drawn to them, glued to the flashy, busy screens, no force on earth from either man or Pokémon strong enough to tear them away. Some exchanged a sentence or two with each other as they watched the cylinders spin, but the strongest sounds of human speech came from the center of the room, and Meowth, intrigued, followed the sound, pausing every now and then to swipe some loose change on the floor.

Half-circle tables dotted the center of the room, all with a snappily dressed employee standing behind them, and most with other people sitting on stools around the curved edge, playing cards in their hands. Meowth scooted over to the nearest table and hopped up onto an empty stool, the dealer and two gamblers engrossed enough in their game that they didn't notice him.

"Raise by five." A chip was placed in the center of the table.

"Fold."

The dealer turned a card on the table over, revealing five different cards now face-up. Meowth studied the cards carefully as the dealer revealed his two cards. "Full house, two queens and three tens." A queen and a ten were the cards he had held.

The first player sighed, dropping her cards to the table. "Darn it. Flush." Meowth glanced at her two cards, both with hearts. He leaned in closer to the table, the wheels in his head whirring. Despite never having been inside a casino, he was fairly certainly he'd seen this game played before, if only in a movie or something like that. It seemed easy enough to put the pieces together and figure out the rules and goals of the game.

The woman seemed only a bit fazed by her loss. "No matter, I'll win it back the next round. Deal me in again—"

"What the?!" the dealer shouted, distinctly in Meowth's direction. Meowth jumped up a bit with a yelp. "What are _you_ doing in here?! Pokémon aren't allowed in the casino! Ma'am, is it yours?"

"No, I've never seen it before," the woman said.

The other player also shook his head. "Not mine."

"Well, whoever it belongs to, it certainly isn't staying in here." The dealer moved towards Meowth as if to grab him, but Meowth had reached the end of his tolerance for being shunted around.

"I've had enough manhandlin' for one day!" he snapped, leaping onto the table on his hind legs.

The dealer let out a yelp of his own. "You… you… _talk?!"_ he spluttered.

"I talk, and I learn! I think get the hang of this here game you're playin'…" He took the coins he had picked up off the floor and tossed them in the center of the table. "Deal me in!"

"This… okay, listen, I don't care if you talk or not, you're still not allowed in here!" the dealer exclaimed.

"What are you, nuts? I'm a customer carrying cash here! You really think toining me away is a smart move?"

"Yeah, deal him in!" the woman suddenly exclaimed.

The dealer looked at her incredulously.

"I'm going to make so much money betting against a _Pokémon!"_ she laughed, tossing in a good chunk of her remaining chips.

Meowth gave her a sly smirk. "In your dreams, human!"

…

The cruise ship's security offices were, of course, on the same level as the casino. Jessie was not aware of this, however, as her shrieks and screams of protest while being carted away drowned out any sound from the slot machines that might have escaped from the room itself. The protesting was for naught, as she was roughly shoved into a questioning room and onto a sole, lonely folding chair situated in front of a large desk. Undeterred, Jessie instantly bolted the second she was seated, but the door to the room slammed shut and the senior guard at the desk shot in front of the door in an instant, blocking her only escape route.

"You're really making my day difficult!" Jessie snarled, shaking with barely-controlled rage.

"You're making mine interesting," the guard countered affably. "Care to sit down and explain what you're doing here?"

"Don't flatter yourself thinking that I snuck on board this ship because I wanted to spend a week cooped up on the ocean with a mob of uncultured riffraff," Jessie snapped back. "I'm here for my Pokémon. They ran off and climbed onboard this ship, and I won't stop until I've found them! And once I _do_ find them, you better bet your booty that I'll be jumping ship! I'm performing in the Vigroux City Pokémon Showcase _tomorrow night,_ and I have no intentions of being stuck on this boat sailing away from my big moment!"

"I figured it had to be something important for you to climb onboard like a crazed stalker," the guard replied. "Thank goodness you _weren't_ actually after one of the passengers, as we'd feared—"

" _Would you stuff it already and let me go?!_ The sooner I find them the sooner I'm taking them back to shore and the sooner you get to quit worrying about me!"

"I'll radio the Pokémon daycare on board. If a Pokémon gets lost from its trainer we do our best to make sure it gets sent there. What Pokémon are you missing?"

Jessie seethed. "A wobbuffet, a gourgeist, and a meowth who can't keep his mouth shut." She took a deep breath, settling the anger inside her as much as she could. Losing her shit wasn't getting her anywhere—anywhere other than a security office, at least, probably the closest thing to jail on board this ship, and that was definitely the last place she wanted to be at the moment. She'd save her anger for when she finally found her runaway Pokémon… because if anyone deserved to bear the brunt of her impending explosion, it was them. "Now would you let me go? As they're my Pokémon, I feel that I'm the best prepared to search for them."

"You don't know the layout of the ship. We'll get our crew on the search, and when they find a lead, they'll bring them around here so you can identify them."

It was getting harder and harder to quell her rage. "Then what am I supposed to do until then? Just _sit here?!"_

"Yes," the guard answered bluntly. He removed his walkie-talkie from his holster and began speaking into it, asking whoever was listening to search the ship for an unclaimed wobbuffet, gourgeist, and meowth.

Noticing the guard was distracted, Jessie quickly zipped to the door. No better time than to make her esc—

He was in front of her again, blocking the door. As someone else blared an answer to him over his walkie-talkie, he looked Jessie in the eye and mouthed _I don't think so._

" _OH I'LL GIVE YOU PLENTY TO THINK ABOUT, DAMMIT!"_

"What?" the walkie-talkie voice answered, perplexed.

"Nothing," the guard answered, pushing Jessie back to her seat.

" _NOTHING?! YOU THINK THIS IS_ _ **NOTHING?!"**_

"And hurry up on that search, will you? Their owner's getting antsy."

…

Gourgeist's eyes fluttered open groggily, the harsh lights of the kitchen storage area and the overwhelming scent of sweets boring into her like power drills.

Wait… where was she again?

She felt overstuffed, like a ragdoll too full of padding. The excess pressure was manifesting itself everywhere inside her, but especially her forehead, and she brought a limb to it wearily, vainly willing the throbbing to leave. She still couldn't quite remember where she was, but even thinking felt too painful at the moment. Her other arm slunk to her side, brushing something round and smooth on its way.

Gourgeist turned to the unknown object.

Blinked once. Twice.

And then shrieked.

It was an egg.

And suddenly every memory, including just how that egg had come to be, came crashing back in like a tidal wave.

She continued to shriek, zooming around the room, finding Wobbuffet now her only goal. Her panicked screeches were enough to reveal him from his hiding place, a drawer not too far from where Gourgeist had awoken. He looked as hungover and grumpy as Gourgeist had felt before she had noticed the little souvenir of their carefree amusement, and he put a blearily put an arm to his forehead and winced as Gourgeist continued to frantically blare at him, barely able to get a silencing command in. Gourgeist still wouldn't stop, and instead grabbed his free arm and used it to point to the egg.

For the first time since Gourgeist had known him, Wobbuffet's eyes actually flew completely open. Letting out the tiniest squeak of "Wob…!" his arms locked to his sides, a blush tainting his entire face with shame and disgrace.

Gourgeist flew around him in circles, still yelling but not really saying anything, for a few moments before her panic and energies were spent. Exhausted, and just as mortified as Wobbuffet, she flopped down on the floor next to the egg, and directly addressed her fellow Pokémon, who continued to be uncharacteristically silent and still, gaping at the egg they had created.

To start, Gourgeist explained, on looking back on… what had happened between them, it seemed fair to agree that this was just a mutual bad decision brought on by the obviously spiked 'puffs. Wobbuffet nodded dumbly. With that settled between them, Gourgeist pushed herself off the floor again with a shaky resolve, declaring that, well, now that they'd had their fun, they'd better start being responsible again, get this egg off of the ship, and go find Jessie. This little mishap had probably set them back further than they had been anticipating, so she wasn't likely to be very happy with them when they finally returned… but, Gourgeist fervently reminded Wobbuffet (and herself), perhaps the egg would placate her. Had she ever received a Pokémon egg before? Wobbuffet shook his head, not knowing of a time since he'd known her, at least. Gourgeist anxiously lifted the egg off of the floor, cradling it in her silky limbs, still trying to verbally convince herself and Wobbuffet that perhaps this egg was a _positive_ development, that Jessie would be so happy to receive it that she'd forget about everything else.

The two Pokémon looked at each other warily. There was nothing more to be said between the two accidental paramours, and so with one final unspoken agreement that they wouldn't speak of this again, they held hands and stepped out of the kitchen storage room.

Of course, they had been in there longer than they'd realized, and the kitchen was teeming with chefs and waiters.

Wobbuffet and Gourgeist, startled, froze in their tracks.

And it of course only took one person to take notice of them and sound the alarm alerting everyone else. "Holy—there are _Pokémon_ in here!"

Letting out another pair of ear-piercing shrieks, Wobbuffet and Gourgeist scrambled for the exit.

…

 _Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick…_

The silence in the security questioning room was _stifling._

Growing more and more antsy and uncomfortable by the second (and she hadn't exactly entered the room a picture of serene grace to begin with), Jessie twirled a loose strand of hair that had fallen out of her bun with her finger, something she _never_ did, crossing and un-crossing and re-crossing her ankles in every single combination she could think of and looking around the room in a façade of boredom to hide her true aim of trying to formulate a plan to get the hell out of there.

She looked to her left where a corkboard hung, various informational flyers and newspaper clippings tacked onto it. She looked to the right and saw, below the conspicuous clock, a variety of security-related equipment hanging from the wall, some of it (nightsticks, handcuffs, pepper spray) causing her to recoil a bit. Twisting her head to look behind her, she saw over the door a large, long sign that proclaimed "DON'T STEAL AGAIN!" in a far too cheerful font. _Yeah, nice try,_ she thought bitterly, a harsh smirk breaking across her face for a second or two. How ironic… she actually _hadn't_ stolen anything today or even attempted to, and yet here she was.

And there was the door.

But Jessie could feel the guard's presence at the desk in front of her, even without looking at him, and she cautiously turned back to face him. He wasn't even looking at her, his eyes down and reading something on his desk, but Jessie could still tell that he was watching her regardless.

She exhaled stiffly, shifting in the chair. Running wasn't going to work, not even with the door only a few feet away. She already knew how fast this guy was.

She'd have to distract him. But how? Normally discreetly releasing a Pokémon and instructing it to do something disruptive did the trick, but of course that wasn't an option at the moment. Hell, even James and Meowth served as good decoys when the need arose, but that was out of the question right now too. Jessie had always just laughed off the fear of ever getting caught, but now completely own her own, the reality wasn't so funny anymore.

 _Buck up, Jessie, you're a big girl. You'll just have to rely on yourself right now._

But what evasive skills did she on her lonesome possess other than being quick on her feet, a skill that wasn't going to help out one iota in this particular circumstance? Angrily, Jessie roughly entwined her hair around her finger again, her mind inexplicably jumping back to the memory of James gently stroking it early that morning.

Her eyes locked back on the guard, noticing for the first time his strong arms and quick eyes.

She grimaced. _No, there has to be another way._ Dammit. She had never had any qualms in the past over using her flirtatious charm and good looks to get what she wanted or out of trouble… in fact, she usually relished the opportunity. But the idea now felt so disloyal to James that she almost felt like throwing up. Couldn't she just grab one of the nightsticks from off the wall and whack him senseless, then make a run for it? Logic reminded her that they were bolted to the wall; she'd need to utilize even _more_ of a distraction to get any of the equipment free in time.

Jessie swallowed hard, trying to push away the ugly feeling in her stomach. The prospect of flirting had never felt so upsetting to her, but… desperate times called for desperate measures, right? James would understand, she was just doing what she had to do.

With that thought, she pulled her finger loose from her hair and began twining it again, although this time much more focused and deliberately. "So… do you get to deal with lots of fearsome folks here?" she asked, keeping her voice at her best mixture of sultry yet smooth.

"Not too often. Most crooks know there's not too many places to run on a cruise."

"Mmm, yes, I suppose so." Jessie continued to play with the strand of her hair, and when the guard glanced up at her for a second, she gave him a flirtatious wink. "Although I think even if any crooks did believe they could run or hide, they'd still think twice when they saw such a strong, strapping guard as yourself is the one they'd have to answer to."

"Oh really?" The guard looked up from his desk again and this time held his gaze with Jessie's, and she made sure the grin she gave him continued to be flirtatious and not a victorious one, lest she give away her ulterior motives. "You know, I actually don't tell this to anyone else I question in here…"

"Go on…" Jessie batted her eyelids.

"But I feel that you should know something… something very important."

"Yes?" Jessie breathed.

The guard leaned into his desk, getting as close to Jessie as he could without actually getting up. Looking deep into her eyes, he said, "…I know what you're doing. You're not the first person to try this. It didn't work for them, and it's not going to work for you."

Jessie's entire demeanor did a one-eighty.

"WHAT?!" she yelped, so forcefully that she rocked backwards and fell off her chair and onto the floor. _He hadn't fallen for that?! WAS HE BLIND?!_

"Next time, work on your subtlety," the guard laughed.

Jessie leapt to her feet, the folding chair she had been sitting on laying on its side to her right, and it only took her a millisecond to see her next course of action. She grabbed the chair and swung it at the guard's head, whacking him soundly with a satisfying smack. _"How's this for subtle?!"_ she raged.

The guard gasped in pain, a hand shooting to his temple, and Jessie wasted no time. She swung a second time, letting go as soon as the chair hit his head again, and bolted for the door. "And don't get any ideas," she shouted at him as she turned the handle and shot out of the room, "I'm already spoken for!"

She heard the guard stumble awkwardly after her, shouting into his walkie-talkie, "Goddammit, she's _loose!_ I need backup, NOW!"

And her run turned into a sprint.

…

"I'm in the money, the skies are sunny, I've got a lot of what it takes to get along!"

Meowth's gleeful singing as he scooped up the vast amount of money he'd won at poker (virtue of his quick learning, ability to pull off a good bluff, and for once in his life just some plain dumb luck) only served to annoy his opponent, fuming over her own quickly dwindling pile. Her companion was desperately trying to get her away. "Come on, honey, that's enough! You've lost too much money already!"

"I. Am not. Losing. To a goddamn POKÉMON!" the woman screamed.

"Too late!" laughed Meowth.

"Alright, that's it," the dealer growled, who was also losing a fair amount of revenue thanks to the feline's winning streak. "Get _out of here!_ I'm not dealing you in again! You're still not allowed in here, and if you stick around another second I'm calling security on you, you hear?"

"Aw, keep your shoit on, I'm goin'," Meowth responded affably, taking his winnings and hopping off of the stool. "Always best to quit while you're ahead! Thanks a bunch for the great oppoitunity here, I had a blast!"

"I'm ruined," moaned the woman. "I'm headed to the poorhouse, and it's all because of a goddamn _meowth."_

"I'm drunk, right?" her hapless companion sighed. "Please tell me that I'm drunk and none of this is real."

"Whatever makes you feel better. Toodles!" Meowth waved goodbye cheerfully and headed to the service counter to cash in his chips. The clerk there, bless his heart, didn't seem annoyed or unwilling to serve a Pokémon (in contrast to the dealer), and handed Meowth the proper amount of cash without a word.

"This is enough moolah to keep us in the clear for a month!" Meowth exclaimed as he counted his winnings and headed for the exit. "Jessie's gonna be tickled pink when she finds out! That is… assuming she made a break for it like I did." He gulped a bit, feeling the heat of remorse engulf his face. He had honestly thought that Jessie was right behind him as he dashed out of that elevator, and even if he had made considerable distance by the time he realized she wasn't (and by the time he was able to move the direction he wanted to), he still should have gone right back to rescue her, not sat down to a game of cards.

Meowth suddenly laughed, forcefully, in an attempt to convince away his guilt. "Jessie? Needin' to be _rescued?_ She can handle two lousy security guards! Besides, anything that increases our cash resoives is a cause for celebration, not complaining. This all worked out poifectly." Satisfied with himself again, he resumed his path towards the casino exit, this time surprisingly clear of foot traffic.

" _Wobba-wobba-wobbuffet!"_

" _GourGEEEEIIIIIST!"_

The panicked shrieks pierced Meowth's ears and halted him dead in his tracks, and half a second later, the two wayward Pokémon shot through the doors and into the casino like a cork popping from a bottle of champagne. Surprised, Meowth spluttered, "Well—fancy meetin' _youse two_ here!" growing increasingly troubled by their alarmed state.

The two Pokémon screeched to a halt, turning to Meowth completely befuddled. "Gour…geist?" Gourgeist asked, utterly flummoxed.

"What am _I_ doin' here? The question is what are _you_ doin' here! If you wanted a break from practicin' _this_ bad, you shoulda just—"

The doorway suddenly filled with the preposterous sight of a dozen sous chefs in slick white uniforms and tall chef's hats, most holding knives or cleavers, and all with enraged expressions on their face. "COME BACK HERE—"

They two screeched to a halt, but just outside of the casino, rather than just inside.

" _Wo-o-o-obba!"_ Wobbuffet moaned miserably.

"Holy smokes, what did youse two _do?!"_ Meowth cried.

"H-hey, you Pokémon!" one of the chefs shouted, angrily pointing a long, sharp paring knife at Wobbuffet and Gourgeist. "You're not allowed inside of the casino!"

"Yeah, so I've hoid!" Meowth snapped back angrily. "And we was just going, as a matter of fact, so if you'd be so kind as to clear a path—"

Yet another individual sprinting into the scene interrupted the bizarre encounter for the third time. It was a security officer. "That's them!" he yelped, pointing at the Pokémon and nearly plowing into a chef brandishing a rolling pin before he could stop himself. "These… these are the Pokémon we've been searching for!" He glared at the chefs. "Get back to the kitchen! We can take this from here!" He tapped a button on his headset. "Sir, I've found the Pokémon. They're in the—she _what?!"_

Meowth groaned, his heart sinking. "Knowing Jessie, that 'what?!' can't be good!"

"Yes, of course!" the guard was saying, nearly shouting in fact, into his headset, whatever calm conduct he possessed having been snatched away. "I'll restrain the Pokémon; you just get all your guys on nabbing her!"

"Aw, crap!" Meowth yelped, Wobbuffet and Gourgeist straight back to panic mode as well. "We gotta _amscray, NOW!"_

"No! STOP THEM!" screamed the security guard.

But the funny thing about humans, Meowth had long since observed, was that it was a rare human indeed who would fight a Pokémon directly. It was as if without a Pokémon of their own they were terrified to approach one, even a relatively harmless baby Pokémon. And as they were still on the inside of the casino doors, their chasers were all too rigidly bound by the rules to even think about sending any Pokémon after them.

" _YOU!"_ shrieked an unfortunately familiar voice, derailing the standoff yet again. Meowth turned and saw his poker opponent charging towards him, fury in her eyes, her partner desperately and unsuccessfully attempting to hold her at bay. The fear that Meowth logically knew he should be feeling was kept somewhat at bay as all he could do was inwardly laugh; they reminded him _exactly_ of Jessie and James, they couldn't throw anything at him that he didn't know how to handle.

" _You give me my money back RIGHT NOW!"_ the woman screeched, flinging an empty wine glass at Meowth.

Oh yes… of course someone like _her_ would be perfectly fine with attacking a Pokémon on her own.

Now that even the casino was no longer safe, Meowth wasted no time. _"OUTTA MY WAY!"_ he screeched, dodging the tossed wine glass just in time, extending his claws, and swiping his way through all of the chefs, screaming in uncontrollable battle rage the entire time. Wobbuffet and Gourgeist screamed their way through too, and once they were clear they frantically scrambled down the hallway, not wanting to spend another second within striking distance of their varied group of pursuers.

"I said _STOP THEM!"_ cried the guard.

"Run _faster!"_ Meowth shouted to Wobbuffet and Gourgeist, neither of whom really needed the reminder. Terrified, the three Pokémon tore through floor nine so quickly they practically left scorch marks. The humans they had ticked off so thoroughly were unfortunately right behind them, their various angry shouts turning into a chaotic roar. Other ship passengers shrieked and cowered away from the pandemonium, none brave (or stupid) enough to stay in their way.

Except for when they flew around a corner and found the one person on board who actually would run _towards_ them.

" _Jessie!"_ cried Meowth, not sure if he should be relieved or even more terrified. "Don't go this way!"

"Don't go _this_ way!" Jessie shrieked, barreling into them and snatching all three of them up in an instant.

Then the Pokémon's pursuers also rounded the corner, and Jessie came face to face with yet another security guard, an enraged woman with a meek, terrified man trying to pull her back, and a dozen furious chefs wielding kitchen equipment of varying levels of threat.

" _IS THIS ENTIRE SHIP OUT TO GET US?!"_ Jessie exploded.

"Get away get away _get AWAY!"_ Meowth spluttered, trying to turn her around.

But then the cause of Jessie's panicked run came into view—five more security guards, one with two rather large, painful looking welts on his head. All five of them were built like dump trucks and brandishing nightsticks, and Meowth could tell that they weren't afraid to use them.

Their presence did not deter Meowth's wronged victim. _"Give me my money back NOW!"_ she screamed, throwing a deck of cards at them just as Jessie bolted back the way she'd came, launching herself airborne.

The cards, not staying orderly in their stack as they sailed through the air, hit Jessie's back and appeared to pop like a firecracker, flying in every direction behind her in an almost starburst pattern. And as Jessie began to fall back down, she tucked in her legs and pushed her feet against the security guard about to catch her, propelling herself into the air again, cards now fluttering to the floor in a bizarre scene of marksmanship and style. The leapfrog action was enough for her to completely surge ahead of both her and her Pokémon's pursuers, and with a death grip on all three Pokémon, she ran to the decks as if their lives depended on it (and they quite possibly did). Their throngs of hunters didn't stay far behind for long, however.

"If we get out of this alive," Jessie snarled as she bolted along the far starboard side, ducking and dodging her way through even more flabbergasted passengers, "I am going to _kill you!"_

A line of lifeboats was just ahead, the first sight in awhile that actually gave Meowth hope. "Escape vessels dead ahead!"

"Way ahead of you!" Jessie launched Meowth through the air in an overhanded hurl without so much as a word of warning. _"Cut that one loose!"_

" _AAAUGH! I AIN'T A HOMING DEVICE!"_ Meowth had to frantically twist his body to correct his projectile path. _"FURY SWIIIIIIIIPES!"_ His adjustments did the trick; his swipe sliced the ropes on one side of the lifeboat cleanly through. He quickly jumped up to the other side and swiped again.

Jessie, meanwhile, of course hadn't stopped running, and tossed Wobbuffet and Gourgeist into the boat just as Meowth cut through the rope on the other side. Their chasers closing in, Jessie's instincts took over, and she somehow managed to lift the boat over the railing and throw it overboard, Meowth, Wobbuffet, and Gourgeist clinging to the sides for dear life. Only a second after it hit the water, Jessie scrambled up onto the railing and jumped off herself, mere moments before the welted security guard could grab her. _"I'm jumping ship agaaaaaaaaiiiiiin!"_ she shrieked, mostly out of habit, landing squarely in the middle of the lifeboat with a crunching thud.

"Oh my god!" cried one of the security officers, sounding horrified. "She just risked serious injury to herself by making a jump like that—"

"Serious injury?!" Jessie yelled back up to the deck as their pursuers all leered over the railing in disbelief, stunned that the fall hadn't even injured her. "That was _nothing!_ And see, I _told_ you that I was only on board to collect my Pokémon, and once I had them back, I'd leave!" She crossed her arms indignantly, turning up her nose. "And after the horrific treatment I received onboard, don't even _think_ that I'll be booking a trip with your company anytime soon! In fact, I plan to write an online review so scathing you'll be out of business in a _heartbeat!"_

SHWACK!

A thrown knife implanted itself right between Jessie and Wobbuffet, causing both of them to squeal in terror. _"You thieves!"_ screamed the chef who had chucked it.

" _Violent psychopath!"_ screamed the security guard who had been victim to Jessie and the folding chair.

" _I WANT MY MONEY BACK!"_ screamed the irate gambler.

"Think about your critique later," Meowth said urgently, shoving an oar in Jessie's lap. "For now, let's get goin' on rowin'!"

"While the adrenaline's flowing!" Jessie agreed hastily.

She and Meowth probably set a rowing record with how fast they zipped out of there.


	6. Chapter 6

The sun burned low in the western sky and land still seemed a fair distance away.

Finally giving in to her aching limbs, Jessie flung her oar to the lifeboat floor dramatically, gaining the attention of her Pokémon companions. They all eyed her warily, too afraid to ignore her but even more afraid of what they knew was coming.

" _So."_ Her hair a disaster and her clothes a wreck and her composure a mess, Jessie was trying her damnedest to keep a lid on her rage… although the sole antidote to the explosion of fury she was only barely keeping down was a _damn_ good explanation for all of this. "Are you happy now? Is this the ending to our perfectly productive day that you all imagined and hoped for? Was your experience there worth it for us to end up stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean with our routine still rusty and unpolished?"

"And let's not forget we almost all got _killed!"_ Meowth added irately.

His comment made Jessie snap a lot sooner than she had been expecting.

" _AND JUST WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE EXEMPT FROM THIS DRESSING-DOWN?! You're the one who let them go in the FIRST PLACE, DAMMIT!"_

Meowth yelped and recoiled from Jessie instinctively, but Gourgeist bravely jumped between the two and frantically pled with Jessie, as if offering an explanation. She was speaking extremely fast and Jessie wasn't sure she'd be able to understand her even if she _did_ speak her language, but the fact that Gourgeist was even trying to explain her behavior at all was enough to keep Jessie's temper back in check—barely—for a few moments.

"Wait, wait," Meowth interrupted, shaking his head in confusion. "A shiny _what?"_

The ashamed flush didn't leave Gourgeist's face, but she somewhat angrily motioned towards Wobbuffet, who for his part seemed to attempting to shrink completely into the lifeboat's floorboards, and gave a few more words.

Meowth sighed, looking up at Jessie with an "I-know-this-doesn't-help-a-thing" face. "Okay, so apparently Wobbuffet saw a shiny caterpie and decided he just had to follow it come hell or high water, up to and including onboard a ship leaving port. Gourgeist tried to stop him but when the boat started leavin' he didn't wanna risk crossing back over the water." He shot a look at Wobbuffet. "So didja ever catch up to that caterpie once you were actually onboard?"

Wobbuffet guiltily shook his head with a meek _"Wobbbbbb."_

"So it was all pointless. All completely _pointless!_ We wasted our entire day on _THAT?!"_ Jessie fumed and shrieked wordlessly, all three Pokémon cautiously keeping as much of a distance as they could from her and remaining silent.

"It wasn't a waste!" Meowth protested. He produced a fistful of cash, smiling proudly. "I raked in some major dough at that casino!"

"Yeah, and left _me_ to the guards!"

Meowth's smile fell. "Honest, Jess, I thought you was right behind me, I swear! Besides, it all woiked out in the end, right? This amount of cash will keep us in business for months!"

"Who knew you were such a card shark?" Jessie remarked, her anger cooling bit by bit into a dull frustration. Still irritated, she stroked her chin thoughtfully, her mind frozen on that instant of the cards bursting behind her, caught by how stunning it appeared (at least in her memory). "But you know what… as crazy as it sounds, this whole fiasco's given me an idea as to how we can finish our freestyle performance." She sternly glared back at her Pokémon. "Don't think that means all is forgiven, though!"

"I hope it's the casino that toined on that mental lightbulb and not all those _knives."_

"And that reminds me." Jessie frowned at Gourgeist and Wobbuffet. "Care to explain why those chefs seemed to want to serve you two up as the main course?"

Gourgeist looked down at the floor, abashed. "Gourgeist-geist."

"Hey, I was right," Meowth said brightly. "They _did_ head straight for the buffet."

"And ate everything in sight," Jessie finished dryly, not needing to hear anything more. "I hope you realize that while you two were enjoying your lunch, I was so occupied trying to find you—and trying to not get thrown off the ship at the same time—that I didn't have time to even _think_ about eating! Some thanks I get for all of my—what's that?"

For before Jessie could launch herself into hysterics again, Gourgeist had ruefully shifted away from her, revealing an oblong object at her side that sported a dull pink and dark brown color scheme similar to her own.

Gourgeist squeaked in horror, desperately trying to conceal it again.

"You think you can hide that from me when I've already seen it?!" cried Jessie indignantly.

"Is that an _egg?"_ Meowth spluttered.

"Is it _yours?"_

Gourgeist slumped in defeat and nodded in affirmation.

"You… you laid an egg." Jessie gaped at said egg, not even angry anymore. "But… but how did… who's the…"

She looked at the other end of the boat to find Wobbuffet trying to hide his face under the seat.

" _Wobbuffet?!"_ she said, confused.

"You mean to tell me that you and Wobbuffet…" Meowth awkwardly motioned between the two Pokémon.

Gourgeist's face flushed with embarrassment as she rapid-fire shot off some quick words to Meowth.

Meowth flung his paws out in front of his body, crossing them wildly back and forth. "Okay, okay, jeez, I don't need to know all of the nitty-gritty!" He turned to Jessie, the astonishment on his face topped only by his repugnance. "Yeah… it's theirs. They bumped uglies and that's the result."

"You two ran away from me, snuck aboard a cruise ship, gorged yourself on food, and banged." Jessie let out a low whistle. "Damn. What am I supposed to even say to that?" Abruptly, she grinned at Gourgeist, starting the pumpkin Pokémon. "I guess all I can say is good for you! Isn't sex great?"

" _I already know way too much about everyone here's sex lives and I don't need to know anymore!"_ Meowth erupted testily. "Besides, what are we gonna do with an egg? We have enough trouble keeping our own mouths fed; how's a baby gonna fit into this picture?"

Jessie smiled as a brilliant idea flashed through her mind. "We can send it to the boss!" she exclaimed. "An extraordinary endowment of an egg; he'll be elated!"

"And we'll be exalted!" Meowth said, brightening at the plan instantly.

"Gourgeist?" Gourgeist asked apprehensively. Wobbuffet finally didn't seem to be trying to hide anymore, although a deep blush was still tinting his face as he also regarded Meowth warily.

"Aw, no worries, kid, Team Rocket headquoiters is a great place for a Pokémon!" Meowth reassured Gourgeist. "That little hatchling is gonna get the best training and accommodations in the woild! Who knows; once it gets older it might get promoted to an official Team Rocket Pokémon Field Agent—a fine position, and I should know!"

Gourgeist finally smiled a bit. "Gour!"

"Of course it sounds nice! Your baby gains instant acceptance into the greatest group there ever was, and we all get some well-earned recognition, respect, and riches to boot! It's a win-win, and we're _all_ in!"

"Gourgeist!' Gourgeist exclaimed happily.

"Wob… wobbuffet." Wobbuffet was finally starting to smile again, too.

"The future's looking fantastic!" Jessie proclaimed. "Now we just have to row all the way to shore and make our way back to the hotel and try to figure out just how we're going to have our routine completely perfected by tomorrow evening!" She suddenly slumped back into a grumpy slouch, glowering.

Meowth, Gourgeist, and Wobbuffet all groaned, Jessie's sudden mood swing dragging them down with her.

Jessie tossed an oar to them and crossed her arms. "I nearly forgot that I'm still furious at all three of you. Row us back to shore before we're stranded out here in the dark! You think I'm angry _now—_ "

"I know, I know, we ain't seen nothin' yet!" Meowth sighed, retrieving his oar and dipping it back into the water, Wobbuffet and Gourgeist hastily doing likewise with Jessie's discarded one. Suddenly perking up a bit, Meowth added quickly, "But you _are_ happy about all the money I won, right?"

" _ROW!"_

…

Dinner had been going for over an hour, the dance portion of the party was beginning to get underway, and still Jessie wasn't there.

James, who had grown more and more uncomfortable with every passing second of sitting as detached as he could from the rest of the crowd and picking at his food, finally could take no more. Nodding at Inkay, who had been floating by his side and gladly eating his untouched vittles, he stood up and made his way to the exit, stopping briefly at the buffet line to request a small bag of food to take up to his companion who was feeling unwell and hadn't been able to make it down to the party. A small lie like that was most assuredly worth it to keep a potentially hungry Jessie satisfied whenever she returned.

"Oh, Inkay," James sighed unhappily, carrying the to-go bag out of the ballroom, feeling himself both relax at finally getting out of there and tensing right back up upon still seeing no sight of Jessie and Meowth. "Perhaps Jessie got so wrapped up in rehearsal that she lost track of time?"

"Innnkay," Inkay said with an agreeable nod, looking a bit concerned at James's worry.

"I hope that's all it is," James said, a knot of nervousness tightening in his stomach. "It's not like her and Meowth to miss out on free food, after all…"

"In-inkay," Inkay said uneasily.

"You don't suppose anything's happened to them?" James whimpered.

"Innnnnnnnn…"

"They could be in massive trouble and I'm left here powerless to help!" James cried, beginning to panic. "Even if I did know where they are, or what the issue is—"

" _Inkay!"_ Inkay said vehemently, brusquely gliding a tentacle over James's face to snap him out of it.

The motion throwing him off, James rubbed his face, giving Inkay a grateful look. "Thank you, Inkay," he said quietly. "Losing my nerve won't gain anything in return. Perhaps they're at the front desk—and if not, perhaps the clerk can assist us." He and Inkay traversed their way down the grand hallway as dusk settled into nighttime and blackened the windows to the exterior, leaving no way to scan for their wayward companions outside. The hallway was quieter now than it had been earlier in the day, the majority of the guests presumably at the ballroom or already retreated to their rooms for the night.

As they approached the front desk, James's despair grew more and more pronounced as both Jessie and Meowth were still nowhere to be seen.

"This is worrisome," he moaned helplessly. "We may need to leave the premises to search for them—but what if they return while we're out? Then we'll have missed each other without realizing it!"

"Inkaayyyy," Inkay said, looking anxious—and who could blame him, he was the only one around at the moment to calm James down.

But before James could launch back into panic mode, the sound of the lobby doors opening drew his attention away from his fears momentarily. Trudging wearily into the foyer, looking ragged and worn, were Meowth, Wobbuffet, and Gourgeist.

" _Inkay!"_ Inkay called out in relief, gaining their attention. All three returning Pokémon looked like they'd been through the wringer, and only Meowth was able to actually respond.

"Hey, Inkay… hey, Jimmy." He gave James the weakest of smiles.

"Are you alright?" James cried frantically. "Where's Jessie?"

Meowth's shoulders sagged even more than they had been. "Today wasn't exactly our best day. Although I did rustle up some dough for us," he added with a frail smile. "Even so, we had a hell of an escapade and even the trip back here was even worse, so good luck with tryin' to remind Jess of the positives."

"But," James cried, impatiently and frantically, "where _is_ —"

"I was just gettin' there, keep your shoit on," Meowth grumbled. "She went straight up to the room. She ain't in any mood for partying. Or anything that involves even pretending to be sociable. Took the side door and went right up the elevator, I figure. If she's still even willing to step in another elevator again after today, that is…"

"Then I must return to our room too and make sure she's alright," James said bravely.

Meowth snorted darkly. "Better you than me. The only place _I_ wanna be right now is the Pokémon lodge, all spread out on that bed and feasting on minced meat and crackers."

"Wobbuffet," Wobbuffet agreed, as lackluster as James had ever seen him.

"Gourgeist," Gourgeist said in a similar manner.

"Inkay?" Inkay asked with trepidation, hovering over to the other Pokémon.

"We'll tell ya later," Meowth answered him feebly. "Let's just go before my legs give out." He turned back to James. "See ya tomorrow, James. If Jess gets all ragey again, just remind her how much money I won for us at the casino!" He and the other Pokémon, including Inkay, hopped over the front desk and to an employee who guided them through the back and presumably to the lodges, James left blinking for only a second or two before turning around and making a beeline to the elevator.

…

Jessie flopped onto the bed like a suddenly stringless marionette, not even her roaring hunger or overwhelming compulsion to bathe and fix her hair enough to convince her to do anything else.

Rowing a lifeboat meant for thirty to forty passengers with only two rowers meant that the return to shore was even more physically draining and time consuming than it should have been, and even once they'd finally reached the shore and disembarked their tribulations weren't past them yet. Rowdy beachgoers had swarmed them excitedly the minute they stepped out of the boat, and it took Jessie completely blowing her top (again) to get them to scatter. From there, an uphill climb through muddy, marshy terrain awaited them, and multiple clauncher attached themselves to her ankles… and Meowth's and Gourgeist's attacks in an attempt to get them off often missed their targets and instead hit her directly on the shins.

It was, then, an exhausted, filthy, wounded, infuriated Jessie who had finally reached her hotel room.

Her mind a numb whir, Jessie simply stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, enjoying the luxury of not needing to move or deal with any living creatures.

She heard the door unlock and open.

Rolling her eyes in dismay, she inwardly groaned. _Goddammit whoever that is better have food._

" _Jessie!"_ James exclaimed, sounding utterly relieved. With great effort, Jessie rolled her head to the right to look at him, her eyes settling on the brown paper bag he was holding.

Following her gaze, he quickly held it out to her. "I brought you food from the—"

 _FOOD._

Jessie was upright in an instant, snatching the bag away from James and eagerly and sloppily snarfing it down without a second thought. She wasn't even cognizant of what the food actually _was,_ too busy and quickly inhaling it to note anything other than it was nourishment that had been much longed for throughout this whole mess of a day. Too soon she found that she had finished it all off. She had to forcibly remind herself to not lick the inside of the bag (or just eat it). Her roaring hunger had been dulled to a slight rumble, not fully satiated but enough for her to be able to think (somewhat) straight again. Folding the paper bag in half in a jarring attempt to detract from her wild and famished behavior just moments before, she looked back at James, who seemed to have kept his distance from her during her entire frenzied meal.

"Erm… am I allowed to ask what happened?" he said cautiously.

Jessie's eyes shot daggers. _"No."_

"That bad?"

"Just use your imagination." Sighing, Jessie flopped back down on the bed.

Very carefully, as if approaching a wounded ursaring, James moved to her side, tentatively grasping her right hand in his left. "Meowth said something about an elevator…"

"I am going to burn every single elevator that has ever existed. And anyone who mentions them in my presence." She shot James a tired warning glare.

"Jessie, dear, I want to help make it better, but I can't if I don't know specifics—"

"Fuck specifics, I just had a horrible day, okay?" Jessie growled. "And the only way you could make it better would be to go back in time and prevent this day from happening in the first place—well, and food. The food helped."

"I'm glad," James said sincerely.

"I want more."

James paled. "That's all I had." Quickly he added, "But I can still give you love and wine!"

Jessie arched an eyebrow. "You'd better be able to back up that 'wine' part, because I swear to god, if you're leading me on…"

James deftly swung open the drawer on the end table and produced an elegantly labeled bottle of Malbec. "I wouldn't dream of it," he said with a grin.

Jessie jolted upright, gleefully clutching the wine. "Oh, James, you _darling!"_ she exclaimed.

"Only the best for the winner of tomorrow's showcase," James smiled back with lidded eyes.

"Indeed," Jessie purred back, stroking a hand up James's chest. "You may ask the wrong questions sometimes but you definitely know how to treat a lady where it counts."

"You may find I have many talents."

"Putting your talents to such good use deserves a reward." Jessie brought her face mere inches from James's, but hovered there enticingly without closing the gap. When James leaned forward in an attempt to do so himself, Jessie pulled away, smiling a bit at how disappointed he was. "After I've had that wine, of course. Priorities."

James grasped her hand again, throwing her a charming smile. "Love first, then wine?"

"Absolutely not." Jessie dramatically pushed his hand away. "Pour me a glass or two and then you'll get your reward. Hell, have a glass or two yourself if you want."

"How generous of you." James lifted the bottle again… and hesitated, his smile fading and his eyes wrinkling with worry.

Jessie felt as if she were suddenly teetering on the edge of a cliff. "What?" The question came out sounding more like a threat.

"I… forgottogetacorkscrew," James finished hurriedly.

" _You WHAT?!"_

"I can go out and get one!" James yelped frantically, scrambling to the door.

" _I can't BELIEVE you! You bring me wine but no way to OPEN IT?! You goddamn MORON! YOU CAN'T JUST TEMPT ME WITH THIS AND LEAVE ME HIGH AND DRY! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"_

James only stuck around for maybe half of that rant—he was out the door, hopefully to find a corkscrew and rectify his mistake, as fast as his legs could carry him.

Groaning out a curse word, Jessie flopped back onto her back for a few moments, once again raging at the world and everything in it that had caused her day to be such a disaster, James now included in that now lengthy list. It just figured, didn't it?

She sighed, her anger (mostly) spent. Her hunger was satiated, booze was (hopefully) soon on its way… might as well get that relaxing bath in.

…

The numerous shops in the hotel didn't carry corkscrews, much to James's dismay—and even worse, checking each and every individual shop had eaten up precious time. And the longer Jessie had to wait for her wine, the more vicious she would become. He had to run across the street to the liquor store where he had picked up the wine in the first place—and seeing as he'd actually stolen it, he wasn't exactly anxious to return to that specific location. Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed anything was missing, and the clerk took his pocket change, an amount that hadn't been enough for the fancy bottle of wine but did cover a cheap corkscrew, without a question or accusing glance.

Making haste back to their room, James prayed to whatever gods happened to be listening that Jessie hadn't worked herself up into even more of a frenzy during his lengthier than anticipated absence.

As he opened the door, the room was deceptively quiet. "Jessie?" he called out gingerly. It didn't take long to scan the small room and see that she wasn't there, but the bathroom door was closed and light was visible in the crack between the door and the floor.

He rapped gently on the door. "Jessie, dear?" he said again, softly. "I'm back with the corkscrew."

No answer.

From any other person, silence may have meant anger, but James knew Jessie. The angrier she got, the louder she got. So while the lack of any sort of response from her did concern him, it was not for the reasons that had previously occupied his thoughts.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice rising with worry.

When he continued to not receive any reply, James gulped before speaking firmly. "You're worrying me. Please say something or I'll have to go in there to check on you."

Silence.

His fear for her wellbeing now too loud to ignore, James quickly turned the handle, trembling with dread imagining the possibilities of what he might see.

Thankfully, his worst fears weren't waiting for him.

Jessie had apparently run a tub and had gotten in, but exhaustion seemed to have set in pretty quickly, and she was in a deep, heavy sleep, her head lolled over her shoulder in a way that looked incredibly uncomfortable. James exhaled, relief washing over him. She wasn't dead, just asleep. Although she certainly couldn't _stay_ asleep there; it was fortunate that her head had slumped to the side rather than forward, into the bath water. James shuddered as he imagined how badly this could have turned out.

He knelt down to stroke her cheek. "Jessie?"

She didn't wake. She barely even moved.

"Jessie, dear, you need to wake up and lie down in the bed."

Nothing.

"Jessie, dearest, please, wake up," James pleaded, his volume rising.

Even that didn't do the trick. Jessie was dead to the world for the time being and nothing was going to change that.

Sighing helplessly, James leaned over to the other side of the tub and turned the knob to drain the water. This was going to be incredibly difficult to manage while she was asleep, but she was leaving him no other option. Except perhaps to slap her awake, but even he wasn't _that_ stupid.

As the water began to drain, James grabbed a towel from the rack above the toilet and tenderly began to pat dry the parts of Jessie's body that began to become exposed. Lifting her arms and even rolling her over still proved to be absolutely ineffective at rousing her; in fact, even the rhythm of her breathing was unaffected. Thinking quickly, he rolled the towel up and slid it under her head as the last of the water drained from the tub and went to retrieve her bathrobe. Returning, and finding his silent prayers that she would wake up from the warmth of the water leaving her unanswered, he carefully slid her arms into the sleeves. Then, as adroitly as he could, he hoisted her out of the tub and grasped her bridal style, the robe sprawling off of her naked, still damp body. She still didn't so much as stir.

James groaned. At this rate, Pikachu could storm into the room and blast a thunderbolt at them and Jessie still wouldn't rouse from her slumber.

He carried her to the bed, gently laying her down and tying the robe closed before pulling the covers over her. Her stiff form seemed to grow a bit more relaxed once her body touched the sheets, and she rolled her head to the side and exhaled softly.

James set the bottle of wine back into the end table drawer. Obviously they weren't going to be cracking that open tonight. Instead, he sat down on the edge of the bed for a moment, regarding her slumbering form and wondering just what had transpired that day that had caused her such distress.

Well, whatever it was… it was all behind her now. And she would, with any luck, be well-rested and refreshed for tomorrow's showcase, regardless of what trials she had faced that day.

He stroked her cheek gently. It was obvious how much she needed this rest, of course, but had had rather hoped that she'd be awake long enough for him to comfort her, to freely say the words that she'd demanded of him previously. It seemed a bit of a moot point to constantly reassure her of his feelings, but given Jessie's apparent need to hear them from him often, he had resolved earlier that day that they'd be the last thing she'd hear from him before falling asleep every night. A superfluous gesture to him, but obviously very important to her, and he could easily accommodate this requirement of hers.

Reassuring her as she slept seemed even more unnecessary than usual, especially as nothing seemed to be reaching her, but he had vowed to start today, and he would let no excuses hinder that resolve. So, as tenderly as he could, he brushed her hair out of her closed eyes and leaned over, pressing his lips to her temple. "I love you," he murmured against it.

She continued to heavily doze.

Sighing again, James pulled away and rose up from the bed, making his way to the bathroom for bedtime preparations. He'd make it up to her tomorrow. But right now, for both of them, sleep was more important.


	7. Chapter 7

The last place Jessie ever wanted to be was stuck in that damn elevator again.

She kicked the door with an angry shout, feeling personally offended by how blindingly white it was. She then made a body slam on the left wall, just as white and just as unbendable as the door. Actually, there wasn't a wall visible there at all. She knew it was there, obviously, as she couldn't move past the confines, but the walls—and the door as well—were nothing. They were a blank white. The floor was white. The ceiling was white. There was nothing else.

There had never been anything else.

That's enough of your delusions for now, a hollow voice spoke wordlessly and soundlessly inside Jessie's mind. You know there's nothing. You know there's never been anything.

Jessie pressed her hands to her cheeks, hyperventilating.

Everything she had ever known was a lie. It never existed. It was just her, and this white emptiness.

Nothing.

Else.

Delusions of something beyond this started again, barraging Jessie with the full knowledge that this time, she'd know that they were all false…

No…

"NO!"

Jessie gasped herself awake, trembling and drenched with sweat. For a few terrifying moments she completely forgot where she was, and even as she did start to remember she realized that it might not even matter anyway. Horrified, she bolted out of the bed and rushed to the bathroom, flicking on the light and staring hard into the mirror, her hands pawing at her face desperately.

She felt flesh. That was good.

It was just a nightmare, she assured herself. Just a nightmare. This room, this sink, this mirror, her memories, _everything,_ were all real. They weren't merely the desperate delusions of a woman trapped in a sphere of nothingness. Things existed other than her. She was real. This was real.

Her hair was…

Her hair was a _disaster!_

Nearly shrieking at her reflection in the mirror, Jessie frantically clawed at her hair, an unshapen mess of clumps and tufts pointing out in every direction. Why would she have gone to bed like _this?!_ Her memories were flooding back after that terrifying dream, yes, but she was distressed to discover that she couldn't seem to pull up any regarding when and how she'd fallen asleep. Actually, she couldn't remember returning to the hotel at all. She remembered practicing… the ship… that _elevator…_ Jessie shuddered darkly.

She remembered getting off the ship and the fact that she'd somehow rowed to shore, but after that things were a blur. She obviously had made it back to the hotel alright…

…wait… this _was_ her room, right?

Jessie spun around with a yelp, as she couldn't even be sure of _that_ at the moment. It seemed pretty improbable that she would have managed to crash in someone else's room, but it seemed equally as improbable that she would have gone to bed with her hair in this state, no matter how exhausted she had been.

Fortunately, Jessie had been loud and disruptive enough after her nightmare shocked her awake that she didn't have to move out of the bathroom to answer her first query. Sleepily wiping his eyes to reveal the concern in them, James appeared in the doorway. "…Jessie?" He was only partly awake. "What's the matter?"

Jessie shrieked dramatically again despite her relief that she was, in fact, where she was supposed to be. _"What the fuck happened to my HAIR?!"_ she demanded.

James blinked very, very slowly.

" _Why did I fall asleep with it in this horrid state?! Do you know how long this will take to correct?! I don't even remember getting back here; what HAPPENED?!"_

"You… don't remember?"

" _That's what I just said!"_

"You had… some ordeal. I'm not sure what exactly, you never told me… I gave you food and was going to give you wine, but I had to get a corkscrew and when I came back with I found you asleep in the bathtub…"

Jessie considered this, her frantic ranting quelled for the time being. She _did_ remember running a nice hot bath in the interest of relaxing. And she also vaguely recalled yelling at James for not having a corkscrew. "So… so why didn't you wake me up?" she demanded.

"I tried, but you were dead to the world."

"Well, you should have tried harder!" Jessie snapped, her anger no longer filtered through panic. "Falling asleep with my hair like this is a disaster, and you exacerbated it by doing nothing!"

James sighed tiredly, rubbing at his eyes again. "…okay. I'm going back to bed." He shuffled out of the doorway.

"Fine way to skirt responsibility! –Wait, what do you mean—what time is it?"

"Three thirty-six," came the weary reply from the other room.

Jessie groaned, leaning her elbows against the sink and her face into her palms. "What the hell is wrong with my sleep schedule lately?" she demanded of the mirror. The mirror gave no answer. From the other room, James also wisely gave no answer.

Five minutes later, after a quick shower and shampoo, Jessie ran her brush through her hair, the blow dryer on full blast as she carefully yanked at every stubborn kink. She was far enough removed from the nightmare by now to know that it was just that, a nightmare, but she still felt so unequivocally unnerved by it that her arms were still shaking, causing her brush strokes to be jerky and uneven. It had seemed so _real,_ the notion that _nothing_ was real. She dropped the brush and touched her face and hair again, to again confirm their existence.

Yes, they were there. And her hair was dry, mostly, and untangled, mostly.

Normally Jessie would accept nothing less than perfection regarding her voluptuous mane, but her exhaustion from the day before exacerbated from her horrifying dream overshadowed her need for flawless hair. Deciding it was good enough for now, she powered off the hairdryer, replaced it on its charge port on the wall, and flicked off the bathroom light, returning to the main room.

James was on the bed, lying on his side and facing the bathroom door. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and steady, but Jessie knew him well enough to know that he wasn't asleep. She laid down next to him, tracing a finger through his hair, wanting to reassure herself that he was real, too. Anything else, _everything_ else being merely an illusion would have been tough but bearable, but James… no. He had to be real. She couldn't function if he wasn't.

His eyes fluttered open and, slowly and carefully, his hand touched her hair as well. Jessie winced a bit, remembering its state.

"Sorry about your hair," James murmured.

"If that happens again, wash, blow dry, and brush my hair for me, will you?"

"Not a chance. I leave that task to the expert."

Jessie snorted lightly. "The lengths you go to in the effort to avoid responsibility."

"I know my place." James gave her a slight, sleepy smirk.

"Keep that up and I'll wish you really _were_ an illusion."

"…I'm not sure what you mean by that…"

Jessie sighed. "I just woke up from a nightmare that everything I'd ever known wasn't real. I was stuck in that elevator, and even the elevator wasn't real, it was only me and… nothingness." She shuddered. "It was horrible. And very… convincing. I'm still having to reassure myself what's real and what isn't."

"Well, I'm quite real," James asserted, cupping her face in his hands. "Apologies if you were still wishing I wasn't."

"You're the first thing I want to be real," Jessie admitted sincerely.

"Even if I inquire about the elevator again?" To be fair, James still did look nothing but concerned, so Jessie couldn't be angry at him for it. "I still don't know what happened yesterday."

"Wobbuffet and Gourgeist ditched me," Jessie sighed.

"They did _what?"_

"Wobbuffet got distracted by a wild goose chase while we were rehearsing, Gourgeist followed him, and they both wound up on a cruise ship pulling away to sea. Meowth and I followed them but got stuck in the ship's elevator for hours… and when they finally got us out, I got grabbed by security, Meowth flew the coop too, and I had to wallop the security guard with a folding chair to escape—damn, that was satisfying," Jessie said, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "By the time I found them all again, they were being chased by angry chefs and card players and I don't know what the hell else, I wasn't really paying attention, all I could think about was getting the hell out of there, so I had Meowth cut loose a lifeboat and stole that and got us back to shore, except it took us _hours and HOURS_ to row back… and my routine _still_ is unfinished!"

James seemed to have woken up a bit more due to the shock of it all. "Sounds like quite the frustrating comedy of errors."

"Nothing comedic about it," Jessie grumbled. "It did give me an idea of how to finish my performance, but even that doesn't make anything about yesterday worth it in the slightest. Meowth's money he won and Gourgeist's egg aren't enough to negate the bullshit they put me through!"

"Meowth did mention something about—wait, did you say Gourgeist's _egg?"_

"Oh yes." Jessie smirked again, biting back a laugh at James's flabbergasted expression. "She and Wobbuffet did the horizontal tango onboard the ship before they found themselves pursued by angry chefs. If Pokémon even do it horizontally, I don't know. I don't want to know. All I know is that they went and laid an egg. I thought we could send it to the boss tomorrow mor—I mean, this morning."

"Good plan. We haven't had anything noteworthy to present to him lately… it could definitely help bump up our standing again." James gulped nervously, confusing Jessie. "Speaking of, erm, eggs and horizontal tangos, however…"

Jessie rolled her eyes. "Listen, James, I understand I left you a bit high and dry last night but you can't expect me to be—"

"No, no, I don't mean that. I understand perfectly." James clasped Jessie's hands fervently. "On the contrary, I'm actually concerned with the tangos that have already transpired. We didn't use any sort of protection, and thus the chance exists that, like Wobbuffet and Gourgeist, we may have brought a child into—"

Jessie laughed abruptly. "A little late to be thinking about that, don't you think?"

"I'm aware—it may already be a moot point, but from here on out—"

"Don't worry about it," Jessie cut him off reassuringly. "There's no need. I'm on birth control."

"You… are?"

"Team Rocket mandated and approved. I get a booster dose every year at our physicals—it's that long lasting." Noting James's continued confusion, Jessie rolled her eyes impatiently. "Seriously, James, didn't you ever wonder why I don't get menstrual periods? The BC is that effective!"

"Why do you think I would have paid attention to anything like that before a few days ago?" James protested.

"Just thank your lucky stars you don't have to deal with me PMS-ing."

"Hmph." James almost looked like he was pouting. "That's all well and good, of course, but I wish you had let me know before I went and got those condoms yesterday."

The corner of Jessie's mouth twitched upwards in a mild, approving surprise. "Planning ahead for me, were you?"

James matched her grin more fully, leaning in closer to her. "But of course, love." His hands, still wrapped around hers, gave them a slight squeeze, but Jessie broke hers free and brought them to his face, pulling him in even closer to give him a grateful kiss. She wasn't the best at being tender and affectionate, of this she was well aware… but she was so touched by James's chivalrous attentions that were the perfect antidote to her previous rotten day that she just had to convey her thanks in the best way she knew how. Preferably without taking the chance of letting lose an insult or anger-laced tirade along with it.

The longer they continued the kiss, the deeper they let it become, and before she knew it Jessie's body had wrapped itself around James's like a seviper, rocking and grinding against him in eager anticipation. With great difficulty, James pulled away a fraction of an inch, drawing a deep, desperate breath. "Are we really letting this become a habit?" he asked incredulously. "Getting hot and heavy in the wee hours of the morning?"

Jessie tugged loose the sash on her robe and squirmed out of it rapidly and gracelessly. "Are you really complaining about having a healthy sex life?"

"Heavens, no," James responded quickly, hastily undoing his own robe, "I just find the timing a bit… ill-advised."

"Hey," smirked Jessie, running a hand along James's exposed hip, "nothing wrong with starting the day off with a _bang."_

James groaned, although Jessie couldn't tell if it was a groan of arousal or disapproval of the pun. "Oh, that was _bad,"_ he lamented, indicating the latter response, much to Jessie's consternation.

Jessie scowled at him. "I'll show you bad," she growled sensuously, gripping James's shoulders and moving to climb on top of him.

James shot out his hands to grip her own upper arms, stopping her. "Wait."

Jessie bit her tongue. "You'd better have a good reason for halting me in my tracks like that…"

"I want to try something different." Smiling sincerely at her, James sat up, but carefully pulled Jessie up to a sitting position with him. His hands snaked to her waistline and inched her onto his lap, sneaking in quick kisses to the corners of her mouth all the while.

"This is… interesting," Jessie commented, examining the position. "What brought this on?"

James's cheeks twinged a light shade of pink. "I did some… research… on positions that gave both parties more or less equal footing, and this one seemed to be a good bet—"

"You spent your day yesterday stealing wine and condoms and watching porn?" Jessie asked with a chortle.

The pink twinge on James's cheeks grew deeper in color. "Not the _entire_ day! And it was _research!_ I'm determined to get it right this time and not finish prematurely, so I felt it was necessary to research positions that would help me last longer."

"You're very sweet," said Jessie approvingly, licking her lips. She settled into his lap, smiling at the sensation of his erection grazing her thighs, and took his still flushed face in her hands. They were close enough to facilitate plenty of intimacy with their mouths as well as their groins. An unexpected position, yes, but Jessie was seeing its merits already. "Just don't be _too_ stoic this time. I have no desire to make love to a ragdoll."

James pressed his lips against hers gently, causing Jessie to smirk again, but a second later she yelped in surprise as she felt a firm squeeze to her ass on both sides. Their kiss broken, James was now the one smirking mischievously, sliding one hand up her back but keeping the other firmly grasping her buttocks. "Your body is far too enticing to leave me stoic and apathetic, my dear."

"Mmm, well, I don't intend to be just a passive spectator this time, either, so you'd better keep up." Jessie grazed her lips and tongue across James's mouth as she wrapped her legs around his body and brought a hand between her legs, grasping James's member and positioning it at her entrance. She fired off a quick reminder to herself to at least _try_ to take it slow this time before guiding him into her, carefully yet assuredly. She hummed lightly, once again slightly taken aback at how exquisite it felt to have him buried deep within her like this.

James let out a shaky exhale too, the hand on her ass clenching it tighter instinctively.

Jessie rocked against him, slowly, testing out her rhythm. "You'd better damn well let me finish this time," she growled.

"Erm… take it as a compliment that I'm so turned-on and infatuated with you that I finish prematurely?"

"Compliment duly noted. Now don't do it again."

"I intend to get this right by you," James said seriously, both his arms now wrapped around her back. "You deserve nothing less."

Surprised at how affected she was by his loving words, Jessie's rhythm was interrupted for a few moments as she blinked at him, the strange sensation of a touched, grateful smile plastered on her face. James returned the smile, the adorable blush still highlighting his cheeks, and Jessie couldn't hold herself back any longer. She pulled him towards her and reclaimed his mouth with hers, finding her pace again as she grinded against him, only barely registering her mind's frantic reminder to take it easy.

James's hands gripped her shoulder blades even tighter, as if trying to will her to slow down, although orally at least he was matching her intensity and enthusiasm, his tongue and lips lapping at hers eagerly. All in all, it drove Jessie absolutely wild, and she nearly cried out in despair when his mouth finally pulled away from hers. _"Jessie,"_ he whimpered, trying to hold her now ferociously grinding body somewhat in place.

Jessie forced herself to put on the brakes. She was going crazy on him. Again.

"I know honey, dammit, but I can't help myself," she said huskily, with some inner protest at slowing herself down. The new pace was only barely adequate. Her body seemed to be crackling with need, although frustratingly not at the tipping point yet.

James rocked his hips in time with hers, one arm flopping down and pressing a palm against the mattress to steady himself, but the other hand now ravaging its way through her already messy hair. He guided her mouth back to his for another kiss, wet and passionate, and when he pulled away his eyes were so full of love and lust and longing that it was the push Jessie needed to move from plateau to precipice.

She leaned against him, pushing him onto his back. "I'm going to make myself come," she breathed against his lips, cutting off his protest before it had a chance to leave them. "Hang tight."

With that, she sat up perpendicular to him, their bodies now at a ninety degree angle with each other. Taking a moment to smile with the satisfaction of being on top once again (and noting that James was doing a poor job at hiding his own approval of the position), Jessie then picked up the pace with gusto, grinding against him rapidly, breasts bouncing up and down as she moaned and squealed in a rather undignified way. James, breathing hard and focusing intently on her face, cupped her breasts in his hands and ran his fingers across her nipples, his hips involuntarily jerking upwards with hers every third or fourth grind.

Not that Jessie really needed any help in being pushed over the edge. She was racing there just fine on her own.

After three near-misses where she thought she was there only to get snapped back to the brink again, Jessie finally reached her climax, a short, loud yelp escaping her lips before panting, the noise filling up the air where moaning had earlier. Trembling, she would have nearly fallen over if not for James's hands, still on her breasts, supporting her.

After a few moments of regaining her mental footing, Jessie finally breathed out in exultation, "I did it!"

Somewhere between disbelief and ecstasy, James sighed out a small laugh. _"You_ did it? _I_ did it!"

"You didn't do anything!"

"Exactly!" James's hands slid up to her cheeks. "I finally let you come before me!"

"This… position… seems to have helped," Jessie panted out, still trying to catch her breath.

"You warning me helped too," James admitted.

"I'll make sure to do that from now own." Jessie raggedly pulled her hair away from her face before smirking devilishly and leaning back down on top of James, pressing their bodies together once more. "It's your turn now."

James's hips jerked against Jessie's awkwardly, his face flushing against his swift, uneven rhythm. "This won't take long," he admitted, slightly abashed.

"Whatever." Jessie smothered him with another kiss, matching his lurching with renewed intensity. James wrapped his arms around her shoulders again, moaning into her mouth, pining her to him as he pounded her from below.

Jessie, for her part, only matched his pace for a few moments, afterwards electing to let him take the reins, gleefully enjoying the sensation as she ravaged his lips, jawline, and neck. _Oh, how he loves me,_ her mind repeated over and over, the perfect balm against everything from the previous day. She wasn't aware that he had reached his orgasm until he suddenly stopped save for slight twitches from his hips and breathed heavily into her neck, murmuring her name almost reverently.

The two clung to each other for a few lingering moments, letting the blessed afterglow settle in.

"Mmm… that was good," Jessie finally murmured approvingly.

"Yes," James breathed, without removing his face from her neck.

They held this position for a while, their breathing leveling out bit by bit, until Jessie coaxed James's face out of her neck and gave him another kiss on the lips, slow and languid. James returned it, albeit drowsily, a few seconds in.

"I hope you won't be offended if I fall back asleep," he mumbled, pulling away, his eyes barely open.

"I was planning on that myself," Jessie admitted, rolling off him and onto her side, one arm still haphazardly splayed against his chest.

As her eyes closed, she caught James's mouth tugging upwards into a sleepy, candid smile at her touch, and she matched it as she slipped into a much more peaceful sleep than the one she had awoken from just an hour or so previously.


	8. Chapter 8

Jessie was bound and determined to make sure that this day's rehearsals went far smoother than the day before. Of course, they got a later start that morning, as not only did she have to go and get props for her freestyle performance, but also contact headquarters and inform them that she was transmitting a Pokémon egg their way. Maybe not the most impressive plunder to send to the boss, but it was better than nothing, and they'd had only nothing to offer for awhile now. The egg would push them at least a bit further back into good graces.

Once those errands were taken care of, however, Jessie threw herself into rehearsals, and thankfully Meowth, Wobbuffet, and Gourgeist seemed to be on the same page as her, listening attentively and keeping their focus on the task at hand, Meowth even keeping his sarcastic quips to a minimum. Whether it was because they felt guilty over what had transpired the day before and wanted to make it up to her, or they were just scared of pushing her to that extreme again, Jessie didn't know, but figured the cause of their helpful demeanor wasn't as important as the result.

And this day, she _got_ results. Jessie's plan of what she wanted her performance to be and her Pokémon's focus combined to create a perfect recipe for progress. The resolve Jessie had made earlier in the day to attempt to keep her explosive temper in check lest she, advertently or otherwise, drove her Pokémon away again seemed to have been unnecessary. The rehearsals ran so smoothly, and the steady improvement in their routine became so apparent, that the anger that had driven Jessie most of the previous day barely even flared up at all.

Amazing how much progress one could make when volatile emotions didn't get in the way.

The general course of the day left Jessie buffed with poise and confidence as she touched up her makeup backstage that evening, waiting for the showcase to begin. The excited and nervous twittering of the other performers, most of them younger than her, filtered through her ears as merely dull background noise. Jessie saw no real need to concern herself with them. She had run a quick glance over each one as they filed in the dressing room, pleased that the twerpette wasn't among them. Beating her was always a treat, of course, but the presence of any of the twerps would have just soiled this otherwise stellar day. Besides, Jessie had the master class to look forward to in regards to showing the twerpette who the _true_ Kalos Queen was.

"Oh my goodness! Jessilee! Hi!"

Of course, Jessie had not counted on any of the twerpette's _friends_ being there.

"That's right," she responded proudly, Meowth (perched on the vanity) rolling his eyes a bit. "The true star of the show!"

The girl, wearing a dress adorned with far too many bows, grinned and giggled, radiating excitement. Jessie did recognize her, vaguely, from some of the previous showcases but struggled to remember her name, that is before she remembered that she didn't really care. "You were amazing at the Couriway showcase! I watched it on TV and I was rooting for you to win—I'm so glad you did! Have you won any other princess keys yet?"

"I'll be winning one tonight," Jessie smirked.

"Hey, I plan on that!" the girl responded, crossing her arms good-naturedly. "I just need one more to qualify for the master class."

"And you will not be getting it here!" Jessie found herself growing a bit irritated. She had no desire to facilitate rivalries—friendly or otherwise—as the twerps always seemed to. All of the other performers were merely forgettable extras in the stage play of her life, nothing more.

"I guess we'll just see what the audience thinks. My mom's here tonight," the girl blabbed on, Jessie already tuning her out as she turned her attentions back to applying her mascara. "So I know she'll be rooting for me! Although your fanbase does blow mine out of the water!"

Jessie's ignoring of the girl—Shauna, she finally remembered her name—wasn't as effective as she'd thought. The last sentence brought her questioning glare squarely back on the enthusiastic girl's face. "What?"

Shauna was undeterred, still grinning from ear to ear. "Your husband. He's always so excited for you! I know it's hard to hear individual voices from the stage, but whenever you're on he's always cheering so loudly."

Realizing that she must be talking about James, Jessie answered, a bit awkwardly, "He's… not my husband." She felt even more awkward with the realization that she wished he _was._

"Well," said Shauna with a good-natured shrug, "whoever he is, he's your biggest fan! And I think his cheering is infectious. The people sitting near him always seem to vote for you, too."

Jessie could feel her face turning redder and redder, heightened even more by Meowth's knowing smirk at her. "I'll make sure to thank him after I've won."

A stagehand poked his head into the dressing room, saving Jessie from further fangirling from Shauna, and thus also from indirect fanboying from James. "Showcase is about to begin! Lydia, Colette, and Jessilee are up first!"

Jessie clicked her compact shut, thankful that her embarrassment was quickly transferring itself into drive. "Perfect! This audience gets a taste of perfection right from the get-go. Come on, Meowth, we have a theme performance to win!"

"Lord help us all," Meowth muttered under his breath.

…

" _Bonjour,_ ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Vigroux City Pokémon Showcase!" Monsieur Pierre announced with his usual showmanship and flair, much to the delight of the audience. "We have fifteen lovely performers vying for a chance to win this princess key!" At this cue, his klefki cooed happily and floated upwards, displaying a golden key with an ornate sparkling horseshoe-shaped design as the key's handle. "But to win it, our performers must first make it through tonight's theme performance."

Obscured on the still dark stage, to the left of both of the other performers, Jessie gulped anxiously, trying to ready her nerves before the spotlights revealed them to the crowd. It wasn't like her to be nervous, and it _definitely_ wasn't like her to express that nervousness to her adoring public. Her limbs, trembling in anxiety, unfortunately did alert Meowth to her unease, as he was perched upon her shoulder. "Here's to hopin' that the theme they've chosen is right up our alley," he said quietly to her, his uneven smile betraying his own apprehension.

"There's nothing we don't excel at," Jessie responded assuredly.

"Except nabbin' Pikachu…"

" _Stuff it!"_

"And our first three performers have taken the stage! Lydia, Colette, and Jessilee!"

As the emcee announced their names, the spotlights turned on the three performers, and when Jessie's alias was called, she struck a wily pose, a hand extended to the crowd as a pleased, noble laugh escaped her lips. Meowth mimicked the pose as best he could from his perch, his smile a little more genuine now.

"And now…" Monsieur Pierre grinned, clearly enjoying drawing out the tension, "it is time to reveal tonight's theme performance!"

The rest of the stage was flooded with lights, revealing to the confused performers (and just as confused audience) three individual tracks stretching the entire length of the performance area, each one sprinkled with various obstacles and hurdles. The stage itself was meticulously overgrown with brush and debris, pools of water blocking the path every so often, and trees that almost looked real obscured much of this to the performers themselves (although the audience could see most of the courses perfectly).

"A true Pokémon performer," Monsieur Pierre explained, "in addition to being beautiful and charming and able to draw out the talents of her Pokémon, must also be clever and able to think on her feet. And thus, our theme performance tonight is an obstacle course!"

The audience mulled its way to an applause that grew more and more understanding and enthusiastic.

"Each of our performers must navigate her way through the course with the help of one Pokémon. Whoever clears her course first will advance to the freestyle round! Performers, please take your positions at the start of the course."

Jessie could finally breathe more fully again, and didn't have to fake not being nervous anymore. Grinning at Meowth as she situated herself at the starting line of the far left course, she said, "This course can't throw anything our way that we haven't dealt with a million times before!"

"Yeah! This'll be a piece of cake!" Meowth exclaimed elatedly, leaping off her shoulder and posing at the ready at her feet.

From his announcing platform, Pierre seemed just as excited as Jessie and Meowth. "Are you in your places, ladies? Excellent! Then, on my mark… get set… GO!"

Jessie and Meowth took off, easily vaulting over the beginning set of boulders and ducking under overgrown vegetation, the only worry crossing Jessie's mind being one of adversely rumpling up her performance dress and hair (hair that had taken hours to finally tame). Meowth, with no clothes or hair to worry about, sprang ahead, plowing a path through the thick grass. Layers of vines hung in front of him, blocking their view of what lay ahead of them.

"Cut them down with fury swipes!" Jessie instructed.

"Roger that! YAAAHH!" Meowth leapt into the air and sliced vines as if they were strings, causing the vines to fall to the ground in clumps.

As they fell, Jessie began to gain a glimpse of what followed them—a wide, sticky, muddy, wet mess of terrain. A branch from a tree on the other side bridged the two sides together, but said branch was a good twenty or thirty feet in the air. Seeing it as well, Meowth stopped slashing and slid off the vine, landing on Jessie's shoulder.

"Whaddaya know?" he smirked at her. "That rope climbing practice you got yesterday's gonna pay off after all!"

"Hmph. That still doesn't excuse Gourgeist and Wobbuffet. Or you." Jessie was returning the smirk, however. She confidently grabbed a still-hanging vine and shimmied up it with ease, Meowth clinging onto her arm with considerably much less terror than he had the day before. Once within arm's length of the branch, Jessie swung herself over and hoisted herself on top. Meowth jumped off her arm and onto the sturdy limb as well. They crossed over on the "natural" bridge and took a look at their course from their new vantage point.

"Another big water hazard comin' up next," Meowth observed. "Lazy coise designers…"

Jessie reached above them and broke off a smaller branch. "There's a piece of plywood down there that we can sit on and row across. Find something to use as an oar." She grasped another vine and slid back down to the ground.

"I woulda appreciated yesterday more if I'da known it was actually _training,"_ Meowth commented, following her down to the ground. "And I think my arms will do just fine as oars. Is that thing gonna hold us?"

"One way to find out!" Jessie pushed Meowth onto the plywood before clamoring on as well and paddling with the strong branch. With Meowth's paws paddling on the other side of the plywood, they crossed over the water hazard and reached the other dry side in no time flat. Now more boulders and debris littered the path ahead of them, with nary a space to squeeze through at first glance.

Jessie and Meowth, however, didn't even have to speak to each other.

With simply a glance and a grin, they took to ducking and weaving their way through the obstacles, the crowd roaring with approval. In seemingly an instant they came to a large hollow cylinder, painted as if it were a log. Jessie hoisted herself on top and quickly walked across it while Meowth crawled through the center. A zip line awaited them at the other end, and Jessie and Meowth reached it simultaneously, riding it down and mounting a graceful landing.

The applause grew even wilder, although Jessie was confused. She couldn't figure out where to go from here.

" _Zut alors!"_ Pierre exclaimed from his podium, astounded. "We have a winner already! Jessilee has completed the course in record time!"

"We won?" Meowth repeated, dumbstruck.

"That was _it?"_ Jessie asked incredulously. "That was all the obstacles we had to clear?" She turned and looked behind her at the course, unable to even see the other two competitors. Were they really that far behind?

Meowth followed her line of sight, looking just as stunned as she was that this had been all it took to win the preliminary round, before finally shrugging and looking back up at her. "Hey, I ain't gonna question it. A win's a win!"

"That it is!" Gleefully, Jessie turned back to her adoring public, her ovation still strong, and struck a confident pose, one hand outstretched in the air. "You're all going crazy _now;_ just wait until you see my freestyle performance!" she exclaimed proudly, soaking in the thrill of victory.

…

The four other groups of performers made their way through the obstacle courses as well, although Jessie, backstage with all of her Pokémon, wasn't paying that much attention. She was using this time to go over the last minute details of their performance with her co-performers.

"…after that, Meowth, you'll use your fury swipes and—"

"I know, I know." A bit grumpily, Meowth tugged at his costume. "Tell me again why I gotta be the joker?

"Because Wobbuffet and Gourgeist are the king and queen," Jessie answered impatiently. "Now—"

"I should be the king! Or heck, I'd even take bein' the queen—"

"You aren't the new parents of an egg! Of course the new parents get to be the king and queen!"

Wobbuffet and Gourgeist, who had been proudly strutting their stuff in their fancy royalty costumes beforehand, now shrunk back a little bit with ashamed blushes lighting their faces again, both Pokémon obviously still feeling guilt from the whole scenario.

"Oh, so if they hadn't banged, _I'd_ be the star of the show?"

" _Is that brain of yours even working?!_ Of course not! _I'M_ the star of the show!" Jessie reminded him fiercely.

"Wobba!" Wobbuffet agreed eagerly.

"Gour!" Gourgeist did likewise.

Meowth sighed, straightening out the jingle balls on his jester's cap. "Of coise, how stupid of me, how could I forget?"

The muffled sound of the crowd applauding filtered into the dressing room, alerting the performers that the fifth and final round had been won. Distractedly, Jessie looked up at the screen, seeing that Shauna was the last performer advancing to the freestyle round. She stood at the end of the course with her ivysaur, looking proud yet ragged, her hair unkempt and her breathing hard and unsteady.

Surprised, Jessie looked at the other three finalists, who had been back in the dressing room with her for varying amounts of time. While they had all had at least some time to recover from the obstacle course, they still all looked…

"They're exhausted," Jessie remarked, startled. "All of them."

Meowth, Gourgeist, and Wobbuffet all exchanged glances, Meowth being the first to finally genuinely smile. He looked up at Jessie with excitement. "We've got this in the _bag,_ Jess!" he exclaimed, voicing the thought Jessie had still been trying to piece together.

Of all of the times to get ahead of herself, this would have been the most ample opportunity in a long while for Jessie to do so, but to her surprise she shook her head quickly. "That may be," she said severely, "but that does _not_ mean that we're going to slack off just because the competition's crap! We will leave no wiggle-room for our competition!"

"That's right!" grinned Meowth, extending his paw out to Jessie's hand. "We're gonna blow the competition so far outta the water they'll need a locomotive to catch back up to us!"

"Gourgeist gourgeist!" Gourgeist added enthusiastically, adding her feathery arm into the mix.

"Wobba-wobba- _wobbuffet!"_ Wobbuffet finished confidently, his nub completing the group gesture.

"The freestyle performance is next!" a stagehand called into the dressing room. "Jessilee, you're up first!"

"Now let's show this audience the true standard they should be judging all of us by," Jessie proclaimed, practically leaping out of her chair. "Let's give them a performance they'll _never forget!"_


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note:

And here we are at the final chapter! I apologize for how long it took for me to get to posting this. I intended to get it up earlier, but my daughter got pinkeye a few days ago, which was... fun. Not. Lol.

Thank you all again for your wonderful reception to this fic! I appreciate it more than you know, believe me. :D You've made my dip into Pokemon fanfic, one that I expected to be very small and inconsequential, to be immensely rewarding and much more a part of my heart that I'd have ever anticipated. While I do have some other ideas for potential Pokemon fanfic, none are very well-defined, and at the moment I'm wanting to dedicate my spare time to a few more personal projects I've been neglecting lately. But should I ever write in this fandom again, I know I have lots of awesome, intelligent readers to look forward to. :)

Here's the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you again for sticking with me!

…

Jessie waited in the shadows onstage, anticipation fortifying her as so little else could.

A logical part of brain knew that her life, on the whole, was in shambles. She was a fucking wreck, on a _good_ day. And yet the past few days made it so easy to _forget_ that unpleasant little fact.

Because at this moment, she wasn't a wreck. She was amazing. And the whole damn world knew it.

She was born to be on stage, to perform. It was the perfect pick-me-up that no doctor could dispense.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Pierre was saying from his podium, the spotlight on him for the time being, "it gives me great pleasure to announce the commencement of our freestyle performance round this evening!"

"Are ya ready?" Meowth asked Jessie, quietly yet encouragingly, Wobbuffet's and Gourgeist's expressions matching his tone.

"I was born ready," Jessie answered fiercely.

"…please give a round of applause for our first performer, Jessilee!"

The spotlight snapped to Jessie and her Pokémon, and she was ready. Blowing a kiss to the audience amidst wild applause, she proclaimed loudly, "You're my kind of audience! You all know class when you see it!"

Immediately following the spotlight falling on them, Gourgeist hovered high above them, and just as they'd practiced, Jessie flung Wobbuffet into the air, the blue Pokémon sporting an insane grin at the sensation. "Seed bomb, Gourgeist, and counter it, Wobbuffet!" Jessie instructed.

The timing was once again perfect, as Wobbuffet hit his apex just as Gourgeist let loose her attack, and the seed bomb bounced off of him in a canopy over Jessie and Meowth, much to the delight of the audience. Meowth clamored on top of Jessie and perched atop her head, but instead of throwing glitter, he instead expertly tossed out a deck of playing cards, brilliantly fanning out across the seed bomb shower.

"Leech seed staircase! And Meowth, fury swipe the cards!"

The roots of Gourgeist's leech seed began to take hold in the ground as Wobbuffet fell back down, and he glowed once more, letting the cards bounce off of him. As Jessie began to ascend her vined staircase, Meowth launched himself off of her head and, with great flair, swiped the cards as they hurtled back towards him, and just as Jessie reached the top of her staircase the cards shot out from behind her like a starburst. Gourgeist landed, catching Meowth just in time, and she and Wobbuffet held him up at the base of the staircase as Jessie posed at the top, her arms spread as wide as her grin.

The audience roared their approval, seed bombs and playing cards fluttering to the ground.

Jessie laughed with glee. "I believe I've been dealt a victorious hand!"

And for once, the world seemed to agree with her.

…

Four performances later, and the five finalists were lined up on stage, awaiting the audience's judgment. The young women who had competed after Jessie had still clearly been attempting to recover from the obstacle course when giving their freestyle performances, and even now they all looked a bit flushed and out of breath from it. Jessie, for her part, had never needed any recovery period at all and was confident in how her performance had gone, but she still worried whether the audience was blessed with good taste or not. It always seemed to be her luck that the spectators at the showcases in which she participated could never recognize an outstanding performance even when it shone so clearly right in front of them.

But, surely, they'd have to be completely _blind_ to fail to recognize the true winner in their midst today.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Pierre announced, "it is now time to vote for tonight's performing champion! Please light your glowcasters with the corresponding color of your favorite performer to cast your vote!"

The stadium exploded with light, so much so that it was difficult to tell if one color—and thus, one performer—was being obviously favored or not. Jessie couldn't blink, focusing only on the streaks of green zoning in to the key on her lapel. From his continued perch on her shoulder, Meowth gave her a squeeze, but Jessie was so absorbed on the incoming votes that she couldn't tell if the squeeze was a comforting one or merely bracing himself for an angry, losing outburst.

"And the winner is…"

 _That had to have been enough votes… it HAD to…_

" _JESSILEE!"_

It had been.

Thunderous applause drowned out Jessie's smug declaration of "Was there any doubt?" although she was shaking a bit with her smile of joy and relief. Meowth, overjoyed, hugged Jessie tightly with an ecstatic "We did it!" before jumping down to the ground to celebrate with Gourgeist and Wobbuffet, who had clasped their hands together and were jubilantly spinning around in a circle.

Pierre approached a still pleasantly shocked Jessie, Klefki hovering near him and extending the princess key. "Sincerest congratulations are in order, Mademoiselle Jessilee! This, ladies and gentlemen, is Jessliee's second princess key. Only one more will qualify her for the master class!"

Jessie eagerly snatched the key from Klefki, the thrill of victory finally overtaking the surprise. She held it in the air triumphantly, and the crowd celebrated with her.

They knew it. They had confirmed deep down what Jessie had always known.

She was amazing.

" _I AM AMAZING."_ Jessie's boast was lost in the applause, but the applause only served to more fully drive the point home, and so she proclaimed it again, knowing that, just this once, her statement was one hundred percent true.

" _I AM AMAZING!"_

…

Jessie and her Pokémon had celebrated their victory on stage long enough that by the time they finally made their way backstage to change out of their stage costumes, most of the other performers had already left. One girl was sitting at the mirror meticulously removing her elaborate makeup, while in the other corner of the room Shauna was exchanging comforting words with her disappointed-looking ivysaur, but other than that they were alone.

"Looks like everyone beat a hasty retreat," Meowth remarked, as he, Wobbuffet, and Gourgeist swiftly disrobed from their bulky getups.

Jessie snorted dismissively, removing her mask. "Couldn't stand to share the presence of a winner? Their loss."

Hearing Jessie's voice, Shauna looked up from her ivysaur and pranced her way over to her opponent. "Congratulations on your win, Jessilee!" she chirped. Jessie raised an eyebrow, surprised at the girl's sincerity. "I was hoping to win, of course, but you definitely deserved it!"

"Well," Jessie remarked primly with a light chortle, "I _always_ deserve it. Today the world just happened to agree with me, that's all."

"Spare me," Meowth muttered under his breath.

"We're even now," said Shauna eagerly. "We each just need one more key! And the master class is coming up soon. I know there's more showcases between now and then but I'm not sure where they are. I guess I'd better find out." She laughed lightly. "I fully intend to compete in the master class!" She took out a Pokéball and returned her ivysaur before looking back at Jessie with a smile. "And if I don't see you in any showcases before then, I'll see you there at the master class competition!" And with a giggle she pranced out the door.

"She's far too happy about losing," Jessie commented, a bit confused. "Of course, simply being in my presence is enough of an honor, but still…"

"Not everyone takes losin' as bad as you do, Jess," Meowth reminded her.

Jessie frowned at him, but a new presence at the entryway prevented any further chastisement. _"Jessie!"_ James exclaimed, rushing into the room and sweeping her into a jubilant, swinging hug, Jessie too surprised to react. He pulled her close to him and kissed her affectionately. "You were _amazing!"_

"I _am_ amazing," Jessie corrected him with a smirk.

"Of course." James held her at arm's length, continuing to positively beam. "You always are—but tonight your talent triumphed, tenfold! The competition never stood a chance!"

"I believe this calls for popping open that celebratory bottle of wine we weren't able to enjoy last night." Jessie gave James a sly wink.

"Aw, come on, not everything needs to have alcohol involved," Meowth muttered, wiping off his stage makeup with the back of one arm. He hoisted himself up on a chair and raised an eyebrow at his human companions. "Ain't the thrill of victory enough?"

"Of course not!" Jessie proclaimed. "I plan to bask in the glow as long as I can."

"Are you seriously suggesting to _not_ have alcohol?" James looked at Meowth, aghast. "If ever there were a celebration that _didn't_ warrant a congratulatory glass, then I want no part of it!"

Meowth rolled his eyes. "Humans. You're all alike. The best way to celebrate is to have _other people_ pamper you, not knock back drinks and pass out."

"Oh, I intend to be pampered," Jessie smirked, trailing a finger up James's chest. James flushed a bit but smiled in affirmation.

Meowth sighed impatiently. "Okay, knock it off with the lovey-dovey stuff, I'm sorry I said anything. I'm just sayin' that all the celebratory activities I need are at the Pokémon lodges, and seein' as this is probably our last night at this here resort, I plan on takin' advantage of that while I can."

James nodded. "Quite understandable." He pulled his Pokéball out of his belt and released Inkay. "I'm sure you're all in agreement in that regard." Inkay zipped over to Wobbuffet and Gourgeist, who were now also out of costume, and the three of them spoke excitedly to each other, Wobbuffet and Gourgeist gesturing grandly, bolstered by their win.

"Yeah, we ain't wastin' anymore time around here!" Meowth jumped off the chair but gave Jessie and James one last smile. "See ya tomorrow, loveboids. And don't go too overboard with the drinking, I don't wanna hafta haul youse two out on a stretcher!"

James grunted glibly. "Your qualms are groundless and unwarranted," he shot at the feline as he scampered after the other three Pokémon, already halfway out the door.

"He thinks we don't know how to party responsibly? Pretty pathetic," Jessie quipped, a hand on her hip. "And yes, very much unwarranted." She directed a lidded gaze at James, snaking her hands up his chest. "We're adults… we can more than take care of ourselves."

Wrapping his arms around her lower back, James gave her a husky smile in return. "Yes indeed."

"You're going to take _very_ good care of me tonight, hmmm?"

James let loose a short, derisive laugh, startling Jessie. "As if you need taking care of. I thought we agreed that worry was baseless."

Jessie roughly grabbed James by the shirt collar and yanked him within inches of her face. "Shut up and ravish me."

"With pleasure." Their lips met in a fierce kiss, Jessie as usual so fervent that she had James pinned to the wall in mere seconds.

For a few more moments they made no attempt to escape, lips still locked, tongues lapping, and hands frantically moving and groping. Suddenly, and with great effort, James twisted his neck and broke the kiss.

"Shouldn't we do this in our hotel room?"

"Oh. Right."

They awkwardly stumbled their way out the door and down the pathway back to the hotel, nearly tripping over their own feet in their haste.

…

"I was the best."

"Yes you were, dear."

"And everyone knows it."

"They can't ignore it."

Jessie sighed in contentment, settling down into the small deck chair. _"Finally."_

A gentle breeze slid in on the cold night air and rustled through Jessie's hair. She only barely took note of the rumpling it caused, steeped too deep in post-coital, wine-fueled bliss to exert her usual level of concern regarding her locks. Setting her glass down on the table situated on the balcony of their room, she grasped her two princess keys, gleaming with pride at her new addition. "Just one more of these babies gets me to where I want to be next—the master class! It's so close I can taste it!"

"That's the wine." From the corner of her eye, Jessie could see James smirk fondly with his words.

"They _do_ taste like wine. When I win them. It's that exhilarating!"

"And I had no doubt that you would win. The competition was a bit lacking today—"

" _But even so!"_ Jessie warned him, a dangerous gleam in her eye.

James recoiled a bit in his chair, and Jessie's anger immediately melted away. "But even so, your performance tonight would have blown them away even if they _had_ been at the top of their game!"

"That's right." Jessie continued to smile at him, still marveling at how she had never noticed before now how beautiful he really was. And he was _all hers._ He was… the princess key was… the wine was…

"This is the perfect end to the perfect day," Jessie declared abruptly. "It kind of started out in the shitter but just got better and better."

"Any day with you is a good one in my book," James admitted, stretching one hand across the table to hold hers, entwining their fingers together.

"You are such a sap. And a liar," Jessie said, although she was still smiling and she could feel a flattered blush rise to her cheeks. "We're always together any day we get blasted by Pikachu."

"And imagine how much _worse_ that would be if we _weren't!"_

Jessie shook her head, not even trying to fight the blush anymore. "You are _so_ sappy. And—no, no." She quickly shook her head. "You might be a sentimental fool, but I'm not."

"You've already been far more sentimental than usual." James shrugged apologetically, still smiling at her. "Blame the wine, I suppose."

"Maybe I should have wine more often," Jessie blurted out without thinking.

"If you want to." Gathering both her hands in his, James told her sincerely, "But not for my sake. I like you either way."

Jessie laughed roughly, her face flushing with heat yet again. "Don't flatter yourself; any excess drinking I do will be just for me, myself, and I." Her words were sharp, but not enough to cut through James's heartfelt gaze. And her face still felt warm.

He was right… she was far more sentimental than usual tonight. Probably brought on by the alcohol, she reasoned. Or for once having a day where nearly everything went _right._

Maybe that's why she was rarely sentimental like this… she normally had no reason to be.

Sighing wistfully, she turned and looked back off the balcony, over the blue-black ocean twinkling and shimmering in the moonlight. "I wish it could always be like this," she admitted softly.

James looked out over the ocean too, but saying nothing, the dull rumble of waves breaking on the beach below them the only sound for a few moments.

"It… it could be," he finally said, hesitantly.

Jessie looked at him, surprised.

"We could find some place like this and… and stay there. Permanently. We could quit Team Rocket. We could do things the right way for once."

Jessie smiled sadly. _I'm glad he said it first,_ she thought to herself, even as she was shaking her head. "No. We can't."

James's eyes were wide with a hundred unspoken questions.

"We promised Meowth, remember? That us being together wouldn't change things between the three of us."

James's shoulders sagged, and Jessie instinctively squeezed his hands reassuringly. The weight of reality had never felt so crushing before now, and the physical contact was every bit as much for her comfort as it was for his.

"You're right," he admitted quietly. "Team Rocket means everything to him."

"Maybe someday." Jessie, continuing to grasp James's hands, lifted them up and set her elbows on the table, looking James straight in the eyes again. "We can't hold out forever and neither can Meowth. Someday he's going to get tired of this whole thing too and want to just settle down. And then we can have our happily ever after. We can run away, start a new life, have a nice little house with a picket fence and a big backyard for all of our Pokémon to play in and maybe even a kid or two. When all three of us are on the same page… it'll happen. We'll be ready."

"If we make it until then," James sighed. "There's a very real chance that we'll get caught and thrown in jail before then. Or we might not even… _live_ to see that day."

"If that's the case," Jessie declared, "then even imagining that day right now will be enough for me. It's probably more than I deserve, anyway. All of this is. This day, this victory, _you…"_ She leaned in closer to him. "Of course I want more, but no matter what happens, as long as I'm with you, I'll get by. We both will. And even if this is the best we're ever gonna get… it's more than I ever thought would happen to the likes of us." She gulped; even with the wine, she felt the usual abhorrence to letting her guard down and getting openly sentimental. But as James continued to gaze at her with love and wonder, she had no choice but to tear down her inner walls once and for all. "I… I love you. And—" Wait, of all the times she'd insisted that he tell her he loved her, had she ever actually said the words to him in return? Voicing what they both already knew was a silly, meaningless distinction, he'd implied so himself—

James grasped her hands tighter, the love in his eyes now shaking with happy tears. Jessie smiled. She should have known better. After all, the reason _she_ kept demanding it was because there was nothing as affirming as hearing those words.

"—and having you in my life has already made it a life worth living, even with all of the mayhem and havoc," she finished. Sliding one hand out of his, she reached for her wine glass and lifted it a few inches above the table. "So… here's to someday."

James hastily grasped his wine glass and lifted it up to clink against hers, still smiling and sniffling back grateful tears. "Yes. To someday."

It was an uncertain toast, to be sure, but Jessie and James had made do on far less than that before. And for now, as this soft, intimate moment embraced them, it was more than enough.

…

The Pokémon in the lodges were largely settling down for the night, with the exception of some of the more nocturnal species. The chatter between them was still a constant white noise, although none of it was human speech. After eating his fill of some delicious gourmet fish and poultry, Meowth had retreated to a quiet, round bed near the back of the lodge, distancing himself away from any further interaction. Pokémon were lousy conversationalists anyway, he reasoned to himself while fluffing up his pillow.

Plus, he was just plain exhausted. It had been an insanely busy day—the past couple of days had been, in fact—and although he was definitely residing on cloud nine at the moment… well, cloud nine was feeling mighty soft and soporific right about now.

As he curled up on the bed, his tail already swishing slowly and dreamily back and forth, he couldn't shake the underlying melancholy feeling that he was so accustomed to, despite today being the perfect day to push it aside, if only just once. Not even the comforts of his current lodgings were enough to quell it.

 _Well, of course,_ Meowth realized, his eyes fluttering shut. _I know this ain't gonna last. Tomorrow I'll be back out, a wanted criminal at large again._

Oh sure, he always said he loved his Team Rocket life, enough so that he pretty much believed it himself. But during those rare times like this… tasting success, experiencing genuine luxury and sanctuary, being treated respectfully rather than disdainfully… well, seeing how the other side lived really made it hard for him to defend his usual wretched existence.

And yet come tomorrow he knew he'd be singing his usual Team Rocket praises until kingdom come. When the only escapes from the life you'd become accustomed to only came in short snippets like this showcase weekend, you've gotta do what you've gotta do to be okay with the crummy-in-comparison normal, right?

Meowth tried to make peace with this as sleep overtook him. Truth was, part of him would actually _like_ living a life like this. But the logical part of him knew that the cost was too great. Team Rocket was so important to Jessie and James, after all, and he knew that he couldn't leave them.

Still, though… this whole relationship upgrade of theirs might lead to one or both of them wanting to go straight and settle down. And when that day came… they'd find a way to make this work. They'd cut their steel ties to Team Rocket somehow.

Meowth smiled as the last of his gloom slipped away along with his wakefulness.

 _Someday._


End file.
